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COFXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



By Florence Irwin 



Master-Auction 
The Complete Auction Player 

Post War Edition 

Road to Mecca 
Poor Dear Theodora 



Master-Auction 

Auction for Those Who Know It 



By 

Florence Irwin 

Author of " Complete Auction," *' Fine Points of 
Auction Bridge," etc. 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York and London 

XTbe IRnickerbocfter {press 

1920 






Copyright, 1920 

BY 

FLORENCE IRWIN 



JUL 3f 







5^ 



PREFACE 



If you do not know how to play Auction, 
this is not the book for you. I recommend 
my Complete Auction Player which will start 
you at the beginning and turn you out a 
smooth and accomplished player — time and 
effort on your part being taken for granted. 

If you know the rudiments and routine of 
Auction and are perfectly content never to 
know more, never to improve your game, 
never to rise above mediocrity, again this is 
not the book for you. There is no book for 
you. 

But if you, being a player of any grade 
whatever, are eager to push ever nearer to 
perfection, if you are interested in keeping 
pace with the latest discussions, in studying 
the illustrations of various subtle and pretty 
points, in polishing away the small ignor- 



iv Preface 

ances which are surprisingly in evidence even 
among good players, then this is — I greatly 
hope — the exact book for you. Certainly, I 
have tried very hard to make it so. 



F. I. 



Hastings-on-HudsoN; 
May, I02O. 



CONTENTS 






CHAPTER PAGE 


I.— The One-Double . . . i 


II. — Fallacies . 






. 39 


III.— Some Points 






• 70 


IV. — Some Hands 






131 


v.— Some Questions 






177 


VI.— Half-Rules 






187 


VII.— The Ruff 






194 


VIII.— The Real Double 






213 


IX. — Eights and Nines 






238 


X. — Condensed Leads 






250 


XL— History . 






253 



MASTER-AUCTION 



CHAPTER I 



THE ONE-DOUBLE 



Woe is me that I should be obliged to 
record, not only the continued existence of 
the one-double, but its increased popularity. 
It has spread, and is spreading — but if it 
ever becomes universal, it will certainly be 
over my dead body. 

Bolshevism has spread, and is spreading — 
you can even hear many smooth and eloquent 
arguments in its favor; laziness has spread, 
and is spreading; strife and discord have 
spread, and are spreading; and so, too, of 
arrogance and hatred and unrest. But I 
shouldn't consider that an argument in their 



2 Master -Auction 

favor; it is merely one more indictment of 
human nature — one more proof that all 
brains aren't the best brains. 

I fear that it would take more than a few 
pages of print — which are all that here avail 
me — to put the one-double out of existence. 
That, moreover, is not my present object. 
I am even about to show its devotees how to 
use it properly. But before I do that, let me 
once more put myself on record as its implac- 
able enemy, and let me give you my reasons. 

It is dishonest — wouldn't you rather be 
straight ? 

It is illegitimate — wouldn't you rather 
stand by the law? 

It is cowardly — wouldn't you rather be a 
good sport? 

It is clumsy — wouldn't you rather be 
graceful ? 

It is dangerous — wouldn't you rather play 
safe? 

It is unkind — wouldn't you rather be 
gracious ? 



The One-Double 3 

It is insidious — its habit is like drug- 
taking. 

It is retrogressive — don't you care to stand 
for progress? 

And finally, it is unnecessary — which is 
equivalent to saying it is stupid. For if a 
thing is dishonest, illegitimate, cowardly, 
clumsy, dangerous, unkind, insidious, and 
retrogressive, the only conceivable excuse 
for anyone's embracing it would be the fact 
that it would serve him a turn which nothing 
else would ; when that excuse vanishes, when 
the thing is proven unnecessary to the 
accomplishment of his end, what would you 
think of him for still clinging to it? 

Now, as abuse is cheap till proof is forth- 
coming, let me give you the reasons for my 
statements. 

The one-double is dishonest because it means 
something quite other than what it says. I 
needn't tell you that to double honestly is to 
show that you want the adversary to play his 
bid and that you expect to beat him at it; 



4 Master-Auction 

but that is very far from being what the one- 
double means. Doubling a one no-trump 
means, ''Partner, please tell me, what is your 
best suit?" Doubling a one-suit bid means, 
* ' Oh dear, that bid of the adversary's has just 
spoiled my no-trumper. I haven't a stopper 
in his suit. Do you happen to have one, 
Partner?" 

When you put this conversation into cold 
print, doesn't it look rather bald? Doesn't 
it savor a bit of sharp practice ? Even though 
everyone at the table knows the signal, that 
doesn't excuse it. The adversaries of a one- 
doubler can not possibly prevent his partner 
from giving him the explicit information that 
he has demanded by a set and false form of 
words. A signal doesn't have to be secret to 
be lacking in sportsmanship. 

It is illegitimate. From time immemorial 
it has been conceded that specific information 
in card games (except the bare terms of the 
bidding which are necessary to the life of 
any bidding -game — terms which mean exactly 



The One-Double 5 

what they say) must be conveyed by play of 
cards — not by word of mouth. Conveyed by 
cards, it takes skill to give, skill to read, and 
there is always the sporting chance of lacking 
the proper cards and of having to use one's 
wits in order to circumvent the awkwardness. 
Conveyed by word of mouth, it takes no skill 
to give, no skill to read, and there is no 
sporting chance: nothing but sudden paraly- 
sis of the tongue could prove embarrassing. 

It is cowardly. The man who doubles a 
one-bid is afraid to take a chance at a bid, 
even though he holds a hand that is too 
strong to pass. He wants to " pussy-foot "^ 
and find out what his partner has, before he 
commits himself. A disease somewhat akin 
to this broke out in certain local circles some 
two years ago. My only knowledge of it 
came through various letters begging me to 
champion, or to kill, it. The dealer would 
neither pass nor bid; instead, he would say, 
**I reserve my bid." Then, he would either 
glean information, or if the other three play- 



6 Master-Auction 

ers passed he would still have the right to bid. 
This absurd "reserved" bid and the one- 
double are blood-brothers. 

It is clumsy. It is always clumsy to make 
the wrong person carry a load. The player 
who, holding a strong hand himself, hears his 
adversary announce a strong hand, has every 
reason to expect his partner to hold a weak 
one. Yet he forces that weak hand to bid, 
while he, himself, shirks the responsibility. 

// is dangerous. When a one-double goes 
wrong, it goes wronger than any other wrong 
thing I ever saw. By its very nature it must. 
The danger of the bid is marked by its exac- 
tions. No one may possibly be left with it. 
If a man says to his partner, "I'll go into this 
place, but for Heaven's sake don't leave me 
there! Come immediately and drag me out 
by hook or crook," would you look upon that 
as a very safe place? And when even the 
rescuer may be in as much danger as the 
adventurer, I say avoid the place. 

It is unkind. It places on weak shoulders 



The One-Double 7 

a burden that strong ones refuse to assume. 
No weak hand should be so victimized; no 
strong one should be permitted so to victim- 
ize a partner. It is an agonizing moment 
when a player hears himself ordered to bid 
on material that warrants no bid. He'll 
be damned if he does, and he'll be damned 
if he doesn't — especially will he be damned 
if he doesn't. 

It is insidious. Take my word for it, if 
you once begin using one-doubles you'll go 
on — not because of their startling success, 
but because you'll soon find that you don't 
know how to sit up without this brace — how 
to walk without this crutch for a lame duck. 
I note the insidious spread of the disease in 
my pupils. Of course, I must teach them 
every variation of the game, and I permit 
them free choice of school — even while I 
emphasize that which I consider best. Those 
who eschew the one-double never miss it; 
they soon learn to cover every situation 
effectively without its aid. Those who elect 



8 Master-Auction 

the one-double are soon its slaves. Holding 
a no-trump hand and hearing a no-trump bid 
by the adversary, they will say to me: '*/ 
don't know whether this is a pass or a two no- 
trump bid. ril just double and put it up to 
Tny partner!'' And very soon they learn to 
dispense with all reasoning except that con- 
tained in their last sentence: ''I'll just double 
and put it up to my partner." Mind, it is 
the weak players who do this instinctively; 
but artificial braces will eventually weaken 
any player, no matter how strong. 

// is retrogressive. The day of the forced 
bid ended when a special congress decided 
that the dealer might pass. What engend- 
ered that decision ? American ' ' high spades! " 
In the days when the dealer (or his partner) 
was forced to bid, there had to be protection 
against too heavy losses. Spades at two a 
trick, and a stop-loss, formed this protection 
until certain players had the brilliant idea of 
taking advantage of the low spade value and 
making it a means of illegitimate bidding. 



The One-Double 9 

An entire set of false bids was coined; lest 
they prove too elaborate for ordinary memo- 
ries, ''bid-cards" were printed — these to be 
carried to every game. It is unnecessary 
here to describe all those ancient spade-bids^ 
ranging from ''one" to "seven." The last 
three will serve as an example : ' ' Five spades"' 
meant, "Partner, take your choice between 
hearts and royals" — ("royals" being spades 
at nine a trick) ; ' ' Six spades ' ' meant ' ' Take 
your choice between hearts and no-trumps ' ' ; 
and "Seven spades" meant "Take your 
choice between royals and no-trumps!" 

But a few short years ago that method was 
heralded as the "coming landslide in Auc- 
tion." What does it sound like to-day? 
And I am forced sorrowfully to admit that it 
was an American idea, that it came close, 
to killing America's Auction prestige; instead. 
of asking "What are the latest Ameri- 
can theories?" players in other countries; 
were coming to ask "What are the latest 
American jokes?" — and it took a long and 



10 Master -Auction 

arduous newspaper campaign to kill. And 

THE ONE-DOUBLE COMES FROM THE SAME 
SCHOOL OF PROMOTERS WHO LOOSED AND 
SPONSORED THE MISERABLE HIGH-SPADES ! 

In other words, there are certain players 
whose minds and tastes demand false bids; 
deprive them of one set, and they immedi- 
ately coin another. 

However, my point is this: since it has 
been definitely and officially decided by 
Auction-congress that no player shall be 
forced to bid, it is not only retrogressive, 
but it is an infringement on a player's most 
elementary privileges, so to force him. Yet 
that is what happens to the luckless partner 
of the one-doubler : he is robbed of his passing- 
privileges (which are his intrinsic right), and 
is forced to bid. Regardless of poverty, of 
danger, of distaste, he must bid; his partner 
has so ordered. The partner with the strong 
hand hides behind a shelter, at the same time com- 
manding the partner with the weak hand to bid. 

Now, all these indictments might, I sup- 



The One-Double ii 

pose, be set aside if the fact remained that 
the one-double was necessary to the success 
of certain situations — that it could do some- 
thing that nothing else could do. But when 
that last prop is knocked away, surely the 
one-doubler is left without a leg to stand on I 
And it is this last prop which I am about to 
assail by means of hands which have recently 
come under my observation — all of them 
actual hands, none of them with a single spot 
altered to fit my theories. 

If you are a one-doubler, I know what you 
will say : you won't care for the examples that 
I give. You will think that if they were a 
little different here, a little changed there, 
my points could not be scored. Perhaps you 
will "wish she could see that hand we played 
last week when the one-double worked so 
well." Then let me answer you thus: you 
could almost certainly never show me a hand 
in which I would not undertake to substitute 
for your one-double, a two-suit bid, a two-no- 
trump bid, or a pass — and with equal sue- 



12 Master- Auction 

cess. And if you should succeed in showing 
me such a hand, you still couldn't convince 
me that the ofie-double was honest — for it 
isn't. And I'm old-fashioned enough to 
have a strong penchant for honesty. There 
will always be those who prefer subterfuge to 
frankness, there will always be those who will 
put themselves on record as supporters of 
false methods, but I'm free to confess that 
their tastes are not mine. Nor do I stand 
alone, for (you see, I've saved my most 
knock-out argument till the last) players who 
are hailed as some of the best in the world 
detest that one-double as heartily as do I. 
Whether ethically or economically, they 
have no use for it. A man whose name is 
known everywhere that Auction is played 
told me that it was the most expensive 
experiment he had ever tried. Said he, "Let 
the penny players monkey with it if they 
want to. The dollar players will let it 
alone. " I'm told that most of the best-known 
Clubs in America stand against it, as Clubs — 



The One-Double 



13 



which is not to say that none of their mem- 
bers use it. However, I can assure you that 
if you decide to range yourself on my side, you 
will not lack good company — the best, in fact. 
As I find that the double of a one-no- 
trump bid is much more popular than the 
double of a one-suit bid, I shall confine my- 
self to discussing the former ; the latter seems 
dying or dead. And now for the hands: 





^ 962 
4^ 83 
764 
4^ 97632 




9 AK53 

4^ 10 

KQ J92 
4^ AJIO 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ J 10 8 
4^ 7542 
10 8 5 
4b 854 




^Q74 
4^ AKQJ9 
A3 
4b KQ 


6 



It is a clean score, and Z naturally prefers 
to bid no-trumps rather than clubs. Never- 



14 Master- Auction 

theless, should he be pushed very far he would 
certainly jump into clubs, forced by the short- 
ness of his other suits. 

By any sane and honest system of bidding, 
A holds the winning hand. He can make the 
highest successful bid at the table, and this 
bid is perfectly obvious the moment he looks 
at his hand. He can defeat any bid that is 
made against his own safe one. If he uses 
common sense and common honesty the hand 
is his. True, he cannot go game on it, — ^but 
neither can he juggle it into a game-hand by 
any possible system of false bids and false 
doubles. No artificial system will increase 
the value of his hand one iota. No trick that 
was ever invented will serve him as well as 
good old-fashioned science and common 
sense. Even chicanery has its limits, you 
see. 

A's bid is plainly ''Two diam.onds." He 
is debarred from two no-trumps by his single- 
ton club, and by the knowledge that clubs 
must positively be Z's long suit. With two 



The One-Double 15 

aces, two kings, a queen, and two jacks in his 
own hand, A must know that Z is long where 
he, himself, is short, and that the no-trumper 
was bid on strong clubs and side re-entry. 
This knowledge guides A to the bid of "Two 
diamonds." 

I have already said that where the one- 
doubler doubles one no-trump, I take my 
choice of three courses — passing, bidding 
two no-trumps, or bidding two in some suit. 
I can give no hard-and-fast rule to cover all 
hands, but the practiced player will never be 
at a loss as to the proper course. The hand 
under discussion, for instance, is much too 
strong to allow A to pass, much too weak in 
clubs to permit a two-no-trump bid (lacking 
as it does, the master-card of its own best 
suit), and exactly right for a two-diamond 
bid. Perhaps you will sneer at diamonds 
on a clean score, but surely you would rather 
make three-odd diamonds with twenty-eight 
honors than let your adversary make an 
unmolested no-trump? And surely you 



i6 Master-Auction 

would rather play diamonds triumphantly 
than no-trumps disastrously? 

A's hand, however, is the exact type on 
which the average player (who is also a ** no- 
trump hound") would double the one no- 
trump. In this case, what will happen? Y 
will pass — the adversary of a one-doubler 
must always pass, if he has any sense; B 
must bid — the partner of a one-doubler must 
always bid, whether he has any sense or not. 
He will be forced to say "Two clubs" on his 
only four-card suit — and that, by the way, is 
one of the strongest of the many indictments 
against the one-double: it forces a two-bid 
on four trumps, and a two-bid on four trumps 
has been admitted to be bad Auction ever 
since the principles of scientific bidding were 
established. 

B, poor wretch, bids "Two clubs," and Z 
passes from pleasure. A, thinking clubs are 
stopped in B's hand, goes to the "Two no- 
trumps" for which he has been secretly 
hankering — and the fat is in the fire. 



The One-Double 17 

A*s wiser course, after the two-club bid 
from his partner, would be to over-call with 
*'Two diamonds." He would then be just 
where I would have had him in the first place, 
only he would get there clumsily instead of 
gracefully. The false double fails to change 
the situation, and A reaches the same p5int 
by both routes — except that in the first case 
he reaches it with clean hands and a pure 
heart, and in the second case he doesn't. 

Where was the great value of his one-double? 

I showed this hand to a one-doubler. 
"But," objected he, "suppose you, being in 
A's place, should bid your famous ' Two no- 
trumps'? What then?" 

"But I wouldn't," I cried. "That would 
be as crazy as doubling the one. The cards 
forbid such a bid. I'd say 'Two diamonds' 
without a second's hesitation." 

"Very well," he replied, "I'll sit in A's 
place and I'll double the one no-trump. 
Change B's cards just a trifle — give him five 
spades to the queen " 



i8 



Master-Auction 



''He can't have the queen," I objected. 
"That's one of the things on which Z has bid 
his no-trump. You be A and take his cards; 
I'll be Z and take his. Fix the rest of them 
to suit yourself." 

He shoved them into this position : 





^10 9 6 








i 832 








7654 








4^ 976 






^ A K 5 3 


Y 




^ J82 


*10 

KQ J92 


A 


B 


4^ 754 
10 8 


4b A J 10 


Z 
^Q74 


— 


4b 85 432 


( 


^ AKQ J9 


6 




A3 








♦ KQ 







''There," he said. "I'm A. I double 
your one no-trump, my partner gives me 
'Two spades' and we make them." 

"Oh no, you don't," I told him. "I'm 
still alive. I bid 'Three clubs' — and I make 
them, with forty-eight honors." 



The One-Double 19 

**I bid 'Three spades, '"he countered. 

*^ And lose " 

''Notabit of it!" 

But he did — though as the hand pro- 
gressed I'll admit to fears. 

I led the king of clubs. Then, as I didn't 
mind letting dummy trump with an honor 
(you see, A is now dummy), I followed with 
the queen of clubs. A trumped with the 
ten. If he now exhausts trumps I make a 
round, Y makes a round, and B is left with a 
losing club. Losing two clubs, two trumps, 
and a diamond, he'd make but two-odd. 

So, after trumping the second club, he led 
the king of diamonds, which I took. I led 
the jack of clubs, and A trumped with the 
jack. Then he led the ace of spades, then a 
low diamond to his own ten. Next, the jack 
of hearts, which I covered and dummy won; 
then the queen of diamonds, on which he 
threw a heart and which I trumped with the 
king. I led the ace of clubs, dummy threw a 
heart, Y his last diamond, and B trumped. 



20 Master-Auction 

He led his last heart to dummy's ace. Next, 
the jack of diamonds, on which Y discarded, 
but which B, himself, was forced to trump. 
He then had to lead trumps right up to Y — 
from eight-five to nine-seven, so that Y 
captured both rounds. B thus made but 
two-odd spades. 

Of course, if in arranging the hand he had 
taken for himself both the nine and eight 
of spades, and also the jack and ten of hearts 
(leaving absolutely nothing in Y's hand) he 
could have made his three spades — but that 
wouldn't have been thanks to the one-double. 
Also, I might have said ''Four clubs" — my 
honors protecting my one-trick loss. And 
taking the hand as it really lay, it is a splen- 
did example of the way to accomplish legiti- 
mately that which the one-double seeks to 
accomplish illegitimately. With A's hand, 
he can make three-odd diamonds against any 
attack in the world, provided he has enough 
sense to part with his own high trumps in 
order to establish dummy's ten and eight. 



The One-Double 21 

True, he would be uncomfortably forced by 
the clubs, but he could afford it. The most 
probable blind-lead would be the eight of 
clubs, which Z would take and return; A's 
trumps would be forced by every club-lead 
after the first — in spite of which he can make 
three diamonds or defeat any higher ad- 
verse bid. And by no combination of false 
bids can he arrive at a declaration which 
will pay him as well as his plain and obvi- 
ous one. 

I constantly hear one-doublers criticizing 
each other for hands that fail. "You hadn't 
the cards to double a one no-trump, ' ' they will 
cry; and then, a few moments later, they 
themselves go gaily to doubling on hands 
that are as light, or lighter. It is very hard 
to persuade them to commit themselves 
specifically as to the make-up of a legitimate 
one-double (if there could be such a thing) ; 
but if you ever do pin them down, the hand 
that they will show you is invariably a strong 
two no-trumper. 



22 Master-Auction 

That, in all possible cases, is my own 
favorite bid against an adverse one no-trump. 
When I sit on the proper side (and sometimes 
when I don't), and when I have the material, 
there is no bid that I love better than two 
no-trumps against one. The rubbers that 
this bid has won for me ! The other rubbers 
that it has saved for me ! The partners that 
have called it blessed, because it didn't shove 
on to them a responsibility that they were 
unable to assume ! 

When I bid two no-trumps against 
ONE, I'm always willing to play them. 
That is the great beauty of the bid — ^its 
honesty. Nevertheless, if my partner 

HAS A POOR hand AND ANY FIVE-CARD SUIT 
HEADED BY AN HONOR, I WANT HIM TO OVER- 
CALL WITH THREE IN THAT SUIT. And that 

you see, is nothing more nor less than our old 
and tried friend, the over-call, pushed one 
point farther. With an impossible no-trump 
assist, you over-call one no-trump with two 
in any five-card suit: you've done it for 



The One-Double 23 

years : the convention is an indispensable part 
of your Auction equipment. Very well; go 
just one step farther. With an impossible 
no-trump assist, over-call two no-trumps 
with three in any five-card suit that is headed 
by an honor. That no over-call can be made 
on fewer than five cards has long been con- 
ceded; length is the first requisite of a weak 
bid. Yet the partner of the one-douhler is 
forced to over-call on any four-card suit. Thus 
it is unsound at the very beginning. Reduce 
your old-established no-trump over-call to a 
four-card suit instead of a five, and see how 
often you'll hit trouble. Very often, if I'm 
any prophet. Yet a miracle is supposed to he 
worked and the thing rendered safe in the case 
of the one-double. 

With my two-no-trump bid, I stand ready 
to play my own suit in all cases where my 
partner lacks the material for a proper over- 
call. That is its beauty; I may be left in, 
faihng a sound over-call from my partner. 
The one-doubler is not so fortunate ; he must 



24 



Master -Auction 



be rescued, even when his partner is notably 
unable to assume the task. 

Here is a hand which admirably illustrates 
the points in question: 



( 


^96 

fi Q763 

Q5 

4^ 76542 




^ Q842 
*42 
J9763 
♦ KIO 


Y 

A B 

Z 


9 KJ3 

•|i A J 10 9 5 

<> AK 

♦ A98 




A 10 7 5 
* K8 
10 8 42 
^ QJ3 





Z opened with "One no-trump." It was 
light, but as dealer I constantly bid it as 
lightly. Z has a no-trumper or nothing. 
He has three suits stopped (provided luck is 
with him) and he may have even four. Open 
ing no-trumpers are bid on stoppers these 
days. But in the present case, Z has even an 
''average" no-trumper, in that he holds one 



The One-Double 25 

ace, one king, one queen, one jack, one ten, 
etc. The chance of an adverse bid, or of an 
over-call makes his bid correct. 

A passed, and I do not think Y should have 
said, "Two spades." He didn't think so 
either, and he passed. Y's spades were just 
a trifle too poor to over-call, while his queens 
might help the no-trump hand. So the bid 
came to B, being held by Z at one no-trump. 

A weak player without a spine would im- 
mediately have doubled the one no-trump. 
But B wasn't a weak player, and he had a spine. 

He thought it a pity to waste his hand at 
clubs, on a clean score. 

He thought it a pity merely to content 
himself with defeating a one-bid, which is 
rarely very profitable. 

Although on the wrong side of the adverse 
bidder, he. bid **Two no-trumps," thus 
proving the color of his blood. B can make 
four no-trumps — and that is certainly too 
good a hand to throw away. 

Nevertheless, A (unable to see his partner's 



26 MsLster-Auction 

hand) has a distinct duty. His cards bid 
him over-call with * * Three diamonds ' ' — as a 
warning, and on the proper material. And 
he makes five-odd. Of course, any five-odd 
hand is better than any four-odd hand, in 
that it takes more skill and better cards to 
win it. B's bid and A's over-call make an 
excellent commentary on the principles that 
I have just been elucidating. And the thing 
whidh I beg you particularly to note is this : had 
B doubled the one no-trump, it wouldn't have 
helped him at all. Y would have bid his dia- 
monds, and either he would have played them 
and made five, or B would have gone to no- 
trumps and made four. Exactly the same things 
happen without the false aid of the one-double. 
Now, I am perfectly aware that you can sit 
down and make a hand where the one-double 
would pay. But even then, you can't turn it 
honest. And equally easily can I sit down 
and make hands where every rule of sane bid- 
ding will go wrong, where the over-call from 
no-trumps on five cards to an honor will go 



The One-Double 



27 



to smash, where raises on soHd raisers won't 
work, where poor playing will beat good, 
where correct finesses prove more costly 
than poor ones. I can make a special hand 
to overthrow every doctrine of the game. 
That proves nothing. Scripture can be 
quoted to any end, and hands can be made 
to stultify the best and most scientific of 
principles. It is the rule that works in the 
most cases that must be accepted. And these 
rules that I am giving you, do just that thing. 
Another hand will emphasize my points : 



V KJ5 

♦ A Q 10 6 

AJ7 

4 A86 




^ A 863 
♦ K J7 
<> KQIO 
4 K52 



Q 10 9 43 



28 Master-Auction 

Z bid *'A no-trump." Should A pass, Y 
would be forced to call his partner off with 
^' Two hearts." 

But A didn't pass. He bid ''Two no- 
trumps," Y passed, B over-called with 
''Three spades," and scored four-odd. It 
was exactly the same principle as if A had 
bid "One no-trump," and B had over-called 
with "Two spades." Nothing, you see, but 
our old and tried friend pushed one trick 
farther — and if the two-no-trump bid is 
properly made, there is rarely much trouble 
about that third trick, because the strength 
lies in the right place. Z's strength lies 
under A's strength. 

A one-doubler, in A's place, would double 
one no-trump. B would say "Two spades," 
and exactly the same result would obtain. 
Where, then, would he the great advantage of the 
one-double ? What did it accomplish that the 
legitimate hid failed to accomplish ? True, the 
latter necessitated a bid that was one trick 
in excess of the former; "pussy-footing" 



The One-Double 29 

would shave one trick from the honest con- 
tract ; but to my mind that fails to excuse it — 
rather, it makes it the more contemptible. 
Nor have I noted a general fear of three-bids 
that would v/arrant the dishonesty. 

Moreover, should there have been no five- 
card suit in B's hand (if he held, for instance, 
one less spade and one more heart) he 
wouldn't be forced to bid on four trumps, and 
A could perfectly well make his contract of 
two no-trumps. Whereas, if A doubles, he 
can not possibly be left in his false position. 

Now, note this point which I am about to 
make: 

When a one no-trump is over-called with a 
two-suit bid, I would not have the no- 
trump BIDDER RETURN TO HIS BID. And 
equally, when two no-trumps are over-called 
with a three-suit bid, I would not have 

THE NO-TRUMPER RETURN TO HIS BID. 

When called off, stay off ; that is a rather safe 
motto, as I think you'll find. 

The player who bids two no-trumps against 



30 Master-Auction 

one, will often find difficulty in getting into 
his partner's hand to lead. He will be 
forced to lead from his own strength right 
up to the adverse strength. This is bad, 
although on the return volley the adverse 
strength will be in the same plight, and will 
have to lead straight up to him. By taking 
careful account when to win and when to 
lose, no player should find himself in over- 
whelming difficulty with a mere two-bid. 
Nevertheless, this possible tension will be 
greatly relieved by a three-bid in some suit 
from the partner of the two-no-trumper — 
and it is this fact which forms the chief basis 
for its recommendation. Should it not be 
forthcoming, however, the plight of the two 
no-trumper (being free and not forced) can 
by no possibility be as dire as may be that 
of the luckless partner of a one-doubler. 

One more example will sufficiently empha- 
size the embarrassment in which such a part- 
ner may be placed. A correspondent writes : 

''The adversary opened with a bid of one 



The One-Double 31 

no-trump. My partner doubled. Third- 
hand passed, and I was caught with these 
cards : 

^ 53 
♦ 9872 
8743 
4^ 532 

"What could I possibly do? My head 
grew hot and my feet were icy ! Expectation 
reigned. I said 'Two clubs.' My partner, 
needing clubs, said 'Two no-trumps,' and 
lost 150. What should I have done?'' 

What indeed! I can recommend nothing 
but prayer or suicide. 

These, then, are my doctrines: 

Never double a one-bid. Instead, pass, 
bid two in suit, or bid two no-trumps. If 
your partner bids two no-trumps against one 
and you lack no-trump assistance, over-call 
with three in any five-card suit that is headed 
by an honor. Be particularly careful to do 
this when holding singletons or short suits. 
(Singletons and short suits will help you to 



32 Master -Auction 

a five- card over- call). And finally if you, 
yourself, bid two no-trumps against one and 
get such an over-call from your partner, 
never under any circumstances return to your 
no-trumps. 

If you will give these methods a fair test, 
I think you will soon become convinced of 
their soundness. I think you will soon come 
to share my contempt for the cowardly, 
dishonest, pussy-footing one-double. I have 
shown you four hands which I think anyone 
will admit are fair samples of the one-double, 
and in not one of them did the convention pay. 
In the first, the bid was made on this : 

V Q74 

^ A K Q J 9 6 

A3 

and the double on this : 

^ AK53 

4^ 10 

KQJ92 
4^ A J 10 



The One-Double 33 

The proper bid of **Two diamonds'* 
(against the one no-trump) is safe and profit- 
able. By the false method of doubling, 
either the identical two-diamond bid is 
eventually reached, or two no-trumps are 
played and lost. 

In the second example, one no-trump is 
bid on this : 

^ A 10 7 5 
4li K8 
108 4 2 
4b Q J3 

and the strong adverse hand {held on the right) 
is this: 

^ KJ3 
4i A J 10 9 5 
AK 

4^ A98 

I think you'll agree with me that a bid 
of ' ' Two no-trumps " is as safe as a ' ' Double. ' ' 
Even the disadvantage of position in regard 
to the original no-trumper cannot prevent 



34 Master-Auction 

four-odd being scored. Howerver, with a 
proper diamond over-call from the partner, 
and on these cards : 

^ Q842 
4l 42 
O J9763 
4 KIO 

five-odd diamonds may be scored. 

In the third example given, one no-trump 
is bid on this : 

^ A863 
4k KJ7 
<> K Q 10 
4 K52 

And on its left, I will bid ' ' Two no-trumps " 
on this: 

^ K J5 

♦ A Q 10 6 
A J7 

4 A86 

And I will certainly do as well with my bid 
as anyone with his double. 



The One-Double 35 

In the fourth case, where the partner of a 
one-doubler holds this hand : 

^ 53 

♦ 9872 
8743 
^i^ 532 

if anyone can recommend any safe, sane, and 
honest bid, I should be glad to hear it. 

However, hardened one-doublers are diffi- 
cult to convince. I will therefore devote the 
balance of this chapter to their guidance, 
rather than to their conversion — for I think 
there are some important things about one- 
doubles that have never been said. 

As partner of the bidder and adversary of 
the doubler, always pass. No matter what 
you hold, pass. Pass if you have eight 
spades with all five honors. Pass with a 
hundred aces. Pass if you have nothing, 
and pass if you have everything. To pass is 
not to lose your hand. You're hound to 
have another chance. The partner of the 



36 Master-Auction 

one-doubler is forced to bid, and after he does 
you still may. Or you may have the incredi- 
ble joy of hearing him bid your own very best 
suit. The poor wretch may have been 
obliged to bid it on four cards with a seven- 
spot high — such things have happened. 
Then, if you let him play it, every trick you 
take will be worth fifty, in place of six, or 
seven, or eight, or nine, or ten. Don't worry 
because your score is above the line. A 
hundred aces and eighty spade-honors are 
scored above the line, but we're mighty glad 
to get them. 

But if it is incumbent on the adversary of 
the one-doubler to pass, it is a thousand more 
incumbent on his partner to bid. Nothing 
can excuse him for passing. If he has a plain 
bid in his hand, he won't need my advice. 
But if he hasn't, I have a word to say that 
I think is both new and useful! 

In the case where the partner of the one- 
doubler (being forced to bid) holds four cards 
which would prove an actual stopper against 



The One-Double 37 

no-trumps, I would have him bid two in that 
suit. But if his four cards do not make such 
a stopper (as in the case of four to a seven 
or eight), I would have him bid ''Two no- 
trumps." This should be a signal to his 
partner (one signal begets another, you see),, 
that he has no possible bid. Upon which 
information, the partner (the original doub- 
ler) shall let the bid stand if he, himself,, 
holds a general hand which recommends no- 
trumps rather than suit. Then the weak 
hand need not be exposed, the strong one 
becoming dummy. But if, on the contrary,, 
the original doubler holds a preponderance of 
any one suit, he shall immediately bid three 
in that suit, in answer to his partner's dis- 
tress signal. 

It seems to me that this suggestion so 
tremendously helps the one-double, and so 
lessens its terrors, that I hate to make it — 
J or it doesn't rob the convention of one iota of its 
dishonesty. Nevertheless, in proof of my love 
of fair play, I give it to you for what it is 



38 ^ Master- Auction 

worth — still begging you, just the same, to 
try the fair and square game first. Learn 
to walk without a false prop which may 
break under you at any moment. Learn to 
sit up without an artificial brace. Learn to 
dispense with pussy-footing, and to stand on 
the side of the clean game, — that game whose 
first requisite is that every hid must he play- 
ahle! You'll never lose anything by your 
partizanship on that side! By lending your 
support to false bids, you'll be harming the 
game. Before you know it, we'll have an 
entire new brood that will have to be strang- 
led in order to save Auction's good name and 
fair fame ! 

Said a one-doubler to me, "I never double 
one no-trump unless I have ahsolutely every 
card in the pack.'' 

Said I to the one-doubler, "In the case of 
such wealth, why fear to risk an honest bid?^^ 



CHAPTER II 



FALLACIES 



There are three Auction slogans that seem 
to me to cover two-thirds of the sins that are 
committed. Could they be weeded out, I 
think the remedy for Auction rheumatism 
would have been discovered. The three 
false slogans are these : 

''I must show my partner something T' 
(whether you have it, or not). 

"I must show my partner my strength!'* 
(even when that ''strength" is actually the 
most woeful weakness). 

And, 

'*I must trust my partner for somethingy 
mustn't I?" (regardless of the fact that we 
no longer ''trust " partners, we liste7i to them, 
instead. In place of hoping, we know). 
39 



40 Master-Auction 

Under the obsession that it is always 
necessary to show one's partner something, I 
constantly see players give information that 
it is absolutely false and misleading — mess- 
ages that none but a mind-reader could 
interpret. Under the impelling desire to 
*'show their strength," I have watched them 
bid on six clubs to a queen — ^because that 
happened to be the best thing they held. 
And under the superstition that they can 
always trust their partner for something (even 
when that partner has done nothing but 
pass), I note the unnecessary forfeiture of 
hundreds of points. But still the slogans 
hold. Someone once made them, and they 
can't be killed. However, I'm about to 
take a turn at them. 

The dealer and second-hand pass. Third- 
hand holds these cards : 

^ AK952 

4^ J43 

08 

4 Q865 



Fallacies 41 

He feels that it would be criminal to leave 
his partner in ignorance of that five-card 
heart-suit headed by the ace-king. That 
would never do. He must show his partner 
something, you know. And then, the joy of 
that diamond singleton! (amateurs always 
bank tremendously on singletons). 

Third-hand forgets that his singleton is 
like a spot on his face — it is no good till 
it's gone. He forgets that an opening-bid 
from anyone must have not only the full 
quota of trumps lace or king-high, but that 
it must also have a quick outside trick in 
the shape of an ace or a guarded king. He 
forgets that in his position of third-hand 
after two opening passes, any bid will an- 
nounce really marked strength. He forgets 
that his partner will bank on that strength 
in making a second-round bid. He forgets 
everything except that he must show his 
partner something — and he says, "A heart." 

Now behold the entire hand — and how prof- 
itable its forfeiture would have been to Z- Y i 



42 



Master - Auc Hon 





^ A K 9 5 2 
4k J43 

08 

♦ Q865 




^ 87 
4k KQ87 
AK 
4b 97432 


Y 

A B 

Z 


9 Q J 10 6 3 
♦ A2 
106 54 
4b K J 



^4 

4k 10 9 6 5 

QJ9732 

^ AlO 
Z's pass was correct, A's pass was correct, 
and Y's pass would certainly have been 
correct. B has an opening no-trumper, but 
certainly not a fourth-hand one. So, had Y 
been wise, the hand would have died. 

However, Y bid "A heart," and B passed 
with joy. Z might have passed — believing 
{as he had a right to believe) that Y's bid was 
strong enough to stand alone; or he might 
have taken note of his own heart singleton 
and bid ''Two diamonds." A would then 
lead the king of clubs, and B would take with 
the ace and return the deuce. (I suppose 



Fallacies 43 

you all know that play. When your partner 
leads a king and you hold ace-small, you 
always take his king and return your small. 
You do this against no-trumps in order to 
unblock; and you do it against declared 
trumps to show that you want to ruff the 
suit. The only case in which you do not 
do it, is against a declared trump when you 
have no trumps with which to take the ruff, 
or when your trumps are such that you don't 
want to use them in ruffing. Never ask for a 
ruff unless you want to take it) . 

A takes B's deuce with his queen and 
returns his seven, which B ruffs. B now 
cannot lead hearts up to strength {''through 
strength, up to weakness"), he has no clubs, 
his spades forbid touching, so he leads a 
trump to dummy's weakness. A takes, and 
returns his fourth club which B ruffs. Five 
tricks in, for A-B, and A still holds the high- 
est trump. Z's one piece of luck is that he 
can get a spade discard on one of dummy's 
hearts. While he is beaten, he is not beaten 



44 Master-Auction 

badly. Z's rescue hid saved the terrific dis- 
aster invited hy Y's free hid, and hy his desire 
to show his partner something. 

The second false slogan is, "I must show 
my partner my strength." 

A dealer opened with ''One no-trump." 
Second-hand passed, and third-hand said 
"Two spades." Fourth-hand passed, and 
the dealer, believing himself to have been 
called off, stayed off — most wisely. Anyone 
should play spades in preference to no-trumps, 
the sole exception being the holding of a 
hundred aces. No one should return to 
no-trumps after a call-off. No one should 
interfere with a good spade-make in his 
partner's hand unless he holds : no spades at 
all, or a singleton : or a hundred aces : or high 
honors in hearts. And certainly if third- 
hand's over-call were made from weakness 
instead of strength, the dealer was right to 
accept the warning. Therefore, the bidding 
on this hand closed at "Two spades" — the 
adversaries both sitting silent. 



Fallacies 



45 



All this have I told you without showing 
you the cards, because in the original hand 
and up to this point, no player had seen any 
cards save his own. He had nothing but his 
inference to guide him. Now let us take a 
look at the entire hand : 



< 


^ 976 
i 10 9 4 
J10 4 
♦ AKQ3 




<V? QJ85 
4i J53 

O KQ87 
♦ 76 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^10 4 

♦ A82 
962 

♦ J 10 8 5 4 




^ AK32 
4t KQ76 
A53 
(fb 92 





Z's opening no-trump bid was eminently 
correct. So was A's pass. Had Y held one 
more spade, he should have over -called from 
weakness. Holding but four, he should never 
have mentioned them. What he thought he 
was doing (from his own account) was show- 



46 Master -Auction 

ing his strength, and he expected Z to go hack 
to no-trumps. Just notice the idiocy of the 
idea! If Y wanted Z to play no-trumps why 
didn't he let him alone when he was just 
about to, do it? The only reason for a play- 
er's calling his partner off no-trumps, is the 
firm belief that he shouldn't play them — 
either because they are dangerous or because 
something else will be more profitable. But 
to call him off in order that he may go back 
(with a raised bid) is about the silliest thing I 
ever heard. 

At no-trumps, Z would have gone game — 
thanks to the three tricks in Y's hand. The 
first lead would almost certainly have been 
the seven of diamonds. Dummy's ten would 
have taken, thus giving Z two rounds of 
diamonds. He would have led the clubs 
from dummy, hoping to find the ace just 
where it was, and thus making both his king 
and queen. Two rounds of clubs, two of 
diamonds, two of hearts, and three of spades 
would have spelled game-in-the-hand. 



Fallacies 



47 



Playing spades, Y was forced to lose two 
rounds of trumps, one of clubs, two of dia- 
monds, and one of hearts. As the book 
against him was five, he went down one trick 
— where his partner would have gone game. 
But Y insisted that he was right to "show 
his strength," and also that his partner was 
wrong not to return to the suit from which 
he had been definitely called. 

Here is a hand on which, not only the 
original Y, but every pupil to whom I have 
since given Y's hand, has insisted on "show- 
ing his strength ' ' in this same senseless way : 

^ 763 

^ 6 

A K Q J 4 

^ K Q J 9 _ 

^ A 10 5 4 2 
4I> 10 8 
<> 32 
4^ A765 

^ KQJ98 
♦ A43 
96 
4^ 843 



^ 








Y 




4^ 




KQ J9 7 

10 875 


52 


A 




B 


4 


10 2 






Z 





48 Master -Auction 

Z bids, ''A heart," having just the one 
necessary trick outside his trumps. In B's 
place, I find that some players prefer to pass 
rather than make a first-round bid on trumps 
alone, while others prefer to bid the clubs. 
The latter course seems to me more correct 
for two reasons: A's heart-shortage, and the 
fact that his is not the opening bid, and is 
therefore excusably made on nothing save 
trumps — and a great many of them. 

Now comes the crux, in Y's bid. If A 
has passed, Y should give a pre-emptive raise 
in hearts ; and if A has bid, Y should certainly 
raise hearts. He has three trumps to add 
to his partner's minimum of five; he has "a 
trick" in his ace of diamonds; he has one 
raiser in his club singleton; he has another 
raiser in his king of diamonds, and still 
another in his king of spades. Also, though 
queens and jacks are not raisers, both Y's 
diamonds and his spades promise much more 
than the first or second rounds. Strictly 
speaking, Y should raise his partner's heart- 



Fallacies 49 

bid to "Four hearts" at least, if it becomes 
necessary. He should not as much as 

MENTION HIS DIAMONDS. To do SO, WOuld 

be a backward bid — denying heart-strength. 
It would therefore be eminently false inform- 
ation. Instead of being a declaration of 

STRENGTH, IT WOULD BE A DECLARATION OF 
WEAKNESS AND A NEGATION OF HEART-HELP ! 

Yet every unskilled player who holds Y's 
cards wants to bid diamonds once, at least, * * to 
show his strength " ; he always points out that 
he * * can go back to hearts later. ' ' He forgets 
that there may be no ' ' later. ' ' He forgets that 
first to deny heart-help and then to announce 
it is a messy method of conveying informa- 
tion, and one that may well prove puzzling. 

Honors in a minor-suit never make perverted 
bidding excusable! 

Isn't it a mighty good thing to have a 
strong side-suit all ready and waiting when 
trumps are exhausted? And isn't it better to 
have diamonds for a side-suit and hearts for 
trumps, than to have hearts for the side-suit and 



50 Master-Auction 

diamonds for trumps? If Y raises Z's hearts, 
every diamond round that his hand takes will 
be worth eight ; by making diamonds trumps, 
every round of the suit would be worth but 
seven. In other words, by bidding his dia- 
monds against his partner's hearts, Y deliber- 
ately lowers every trick in his hand one point. 

And finally : Z doesn't care one iota WHA T 
his partner's strength is: all that interests him 
is that it exists! Whether it be a singleton 
ace and five trumps, or a chock-a-block 
diamond-suit with something on the side, or 
the three highest spades and again something 
on the side — what should Z care ? All that he 
wants to know is how many raisers for hearts 
his partner holds; and if Y bids diamonds, 
Z will certainly believe that he holds none. 

Thanks to Y's cards, Z can m.ake five-odd 
hearts — in spite of B's rather appalling array 
of trumps. Yet amateur Y's are always 
eager to ''show their strength," and thus 
to warn experienced Z's to keep away from 
that profitable heart-suit ! 



Fallacies 51 

The third false slogan which I have men- 
tioned is mistaken trust: "I must trust my 
partner for something, mustn't I?" 

Most certainly not. You are not bidding 
your partner's hand : he is. If you bid it first 
(in your bid) , and he bids it afterward (in his 
raise), there'll be trouble as sure as fate — for 
the reason that those tricks of his can't take 
twice and therefore mustn't be counted 
twice. Trust your partner for nothing 

BUT ONE POSSIBLE TRICK, UNLESS HE TELLS 
YOU SPECIFICALLY THAT HE HAS MORE. 

There are rules for raising : there are rules for 
bidding : your partner knows them as well as 
you, and he has a tongue in his head. If 
he doesn't use it, take it for granted that he 
has a reason for his silence ; and if you want 
to know whether he has help for you, instead 
of ' ' trusting ' ' him blindly give him a chance 
to use that tongue of his. Then you'll know 
where you stand. The days of haphazard wish- 
bone Bridge are dead; the days of scientific 
back-bone Bridge have succeeded them. 



52 Master-Auction 

Therefore, to summarize: 

Remember that bidding is now a privilege 
and no longer an unavoidable bugbear. 
Don't feel it necessary to show your partner 
''something" unless you really have some- 
thing worth showing. Don't expect him to 
be a mind-reader, capable of successfully 
translating messages in gibberish. Don't 
show him your ''strength" (specifically) 
unless it is better than his ; in all other cases 
merely make a general announcement of 
strength by raising his bid. The only thing 
which it is incumbent on you to announce 
specifically is weakness; this you do by passing, 
or by an over-call — provided you have the 
wherewithal for such an over-call. And 
finally, trust your partner for nothing (except 
one possible trick) unless he tells you he has 
more. Take care of your own tricks, and let 
him take care of his. This is both common 
sense and scientific team-work, and when 
you have mastered its use your partners will 
rise up and call you blessed. 



Fallacies 53 

There is another fallacy which I am con- 
stantly forced to combat, and that is the 
belief that when a player wins the first trick 
against a declared trump (his partner having 
been the leader) he must immediately return 
the suit. As a matter of fact, he must never 
do so — except in a few rare cases. He must 
show his ov/n suit, or (having none) he must 
lead up to dummy's weakness; then later, 
when the lead is once more his, he must 
return his highest card of his partner's suit. 
But to do so immediately would be to give 
false information: it would announce one of 
two things — that he had no more of the suit 
and wanted to ruff it, or that he had so many 
that he was sure that his partner had led 
short. 

Against no-trumps, when you win the 
first trick (your partner having led) you must 
immediately return your highest card of that 
suit. This is the rule — though there are 
exceptions. And generally speaking, what- 
ever is true in no-trumps is untrue in declared 



54 Master-Auction 

trumps. Therefore, it is perfectly logical 
that when your partner leads against declared 
trumps and you take the trick, you must not 
immediately return the suit — though, again, 
there are exceptions. 

The exceptional times when you don't 
return his lead against no-trumps, are those 
when your own suit is obviously very much 
better, and those when his is rendered 
impossible by dummy's holdings — as when 
your partner has led fourth-best from a king, 
and the ace-queen lie in dummy immediately 
over him. To return his suit under such cir- 
cumstances would be ridiculous; far better 
to keep throwing the lead into dummy, by 
means of other suits, hoping that eventually 
your partner's suit may be led up to him from 
that ace-queen hand. Remember, the mere 
fact that dummy (or the other adversary), 
holds the commanding card of your partner's 
suit should not deter you from returning it; 
until that card is drawn, your partner's suit 
is no good. Not the commanding card, 



Fallacies 55 

BUT A COMMANDING COMBINATION OF CARDS 

which will behead your partner's honors and 
leave the suit still established against him, 
is the excuse for refusing to return his original 
lead against no-trump. 

Against a declared trump, on the other hand, 
it is impossible to establish, and make, a long 
suit — for the reason that the adversary will 
ruff it. Therefore, all methods are different. 
When your partner leads against any declared 
trump and you take the first trick, you do 
not immediately return the suit except in 
three cases: when you have held but those 
two cards of the suit and can ruff a later 
round : when you (or dummy) have so many 
cards in the suit that you are sure your 
partner must have led short: and when 
dummy's holdings make any other lead 
prohibitive. In all other cases, you prefer- 
ably show your own suit (just as you would 
if it were an original lead), or lead up to 
weakness in dummy. If dummy's weakness 
be trumps, be sure to lead trumps. Too 



56 Master-Auction 

many players neglect this golden opportunity. 
They seem to think that no one but the 
declarant is allowed to lead trumps. Lead 
trumps up to weakness, lead some other suit 
up to weakness, or show your own suit. 
Then later, when you are in again, return 
the highest card you hold in the suit which 
3^our partner has originally led. And that 
is the difference between playing against a 
declared trump, and against no-trump. 

The old Whist adage: "Second-hand low, 
third-hand high, fourth-hand take it if he 
can," has established a hang-over among 
certain Auction players — who imagine that 
this rule still holds in the more modern game. 
It does not. The open hand changes all 
that. Too many good Whist rules make 
poor Auction rules, and this is one of them. 
In fact, it isn't an Auction rule at all, but 
an Auction error. 

So too, with the return of a trump lead. 
In Whist, if your partner leads trumps, you 
must certainly lead them back. In Auction, 



Fallacies 57 

this is again changed by the open hand. One 
adversary leads trumps up to obvious weak- 
ness — which is right. His partner, by 
returning them, would lead them up to 
announced strength — which would be wrong. 
Only in a few cases — such as those when it 
is necessary to kill a ruff in the weak hand 
(dummy) is it incumbent upon a player to 
return his partner's trump lead. 

The opening two-bid is one of the most 
obvious of fallacies. In the first place, it is a 
fallacy to suppose that it will "shut out" 
adverse bids, for it won't. Players bid just 
as blithely against a two-bid as against a 
one-bid — and sometimes even more blithely, 
because of the information the two-bid has 
given them. The next time you play, just 
notice how many two-bids really pre-empt. 
Anything that doesn't pre-empt isn't pre- 
emptive; so there's « fallacy at once. 

On those occasions when the adversaries 
don't bid against a two-bid, they probably 
weren't going to bid against a one-bid; so 



58 Master-Auction 

the pre-emptive bid wasn't necessary. Either 
it isn't effective and doesn't work, or it wasn't 
necessary and had no excuse. In all cases it 
gives specific information to the adversary, 
while in some cases it is a terrible inconveni- 
ence to the partner. So why use it ? 

But the worst of an opening two-bid, is 
that as long as it exists it is bound to have 
different meanings with different players — 
tending to confusion and to localisms. Pro- 
perly bid, it should mean: ''I must play this 
suit and no other. Partner, don't interfere 
v/ith me ! You have no duties and no rights. 
I'm playing Solo. You're a dead man. I'm 
being very clever and blocking the adver- 
saries. There's a suit Fm very much afraid of, 
and I don't want them to guess it.'' Then the 
adversaries, not being dead men and having 
ears to hear, promptly look at their hands, 
discover a long seven- or eight-card jack-suit 
(which they would otherwise have been 
powerless to bid on the first round) , recognize 
it as the bugbear of the pre-emptive bidder, 



Fallacies 



59 



bid it in defiance of all rules, and score an 
otherwise impossible victory. That is what 
a proper two-bid (or three-bid) means, and 
that is what it does. In proof of this, let me 
show you a hand which was originally played 
at a garden party on the grounds of Govern- 
ment House at Nassau, Bahamas. I have 
already put this hand into print, but it has 
occasioned so much comment and it is so 
valuable an argument against pre-emptive 
bids, that I trust I may be pardoned for 
referring to it once more : 





^ Q3 
4t Q10 6 3 
Q652 
♦ J32 




^ AKIO 


Y 


^ J97654 


4» K9874 
<> 10 9 8 7 
♦ lO 


A B 
Z 


♦ A J5 
AKJ3 




^82 

*2 

04 





4 AKQ987654 



6o Master-Auction 

Z opened with "Three spades" to shut out 
hearts. I was B, and I bid ''Four hearts" on 
six trumps jack-high, because Z had practi- 
cally invited me to. He had announced 
that he didn't hold the high hearts (if he'd 
had them, he wouldn't have been afraid of 
them) ; it was an even toss whether they were 
held by my partner or by Y, and I deter- 
mined to risk it. Against a pre-emptive bid 
I always bid my hand a trick or two in excess 
of its value. And in this case I made a grand 
slam of which I should never have dreamed, but 
for the information so obligingly given by Z. 

You see, when pre-emptive bidders possess 
universal strength they know they can always 
get the play of the hand, so they don't bother 
with shut-out bids. It's only when they're 
afraid of something that they try to block it. 
It doesn't seem as if anything so naive could 
work more than once; unless adversaries 
were phenomenally obliging, it couldn't. 

However, if pre-emptive bids were uni- 
versal in their meaning I should have no 



Fallacies 6i 

particular quarrel with them. I shouldn't 
use them, but I could tolerate them. It is 
when they engender localisms, when they 
mean one thing here and another thing there, 
that my patience is exhausted and the game 
is spoiled. 

There are still those who bid two to show 
''lack of tops." That was all very v/ell in 
the days of the forced bid when we had to do 
the best we could with what we had, and 
when the great boon of passing was still 
waiting in the future. But as things are 
now, why bid a suit that lacks its tops, unless 
against an adverse bid — that is to say, on the 
second round ? True, there are some phenom- 
enal hands (like that which I have just 
shown) where a topless suit finds its com- 
manding cards all lying in the partner's hand, 
and goes game or slam. But taken in the 
large, a suit that is queen- or jack-high is 
not a suit that promises game. It is there- 
fore a suit that we are willing to relinquish, 
providing our adversaries do not hid. If they 



62 Master-Auction 

bid, that is another story. We'd rather 
take a partial game than let them take one; 
we'd rather take a partial game than let them 
go game; we'd rather force them than let 
them play an easy one-bid; we'd rather lose 
the odd than the game; we'd rather lose two 
or three-odd than the rubber. So we bid 
our topless suit on the second-round, because 
the adversaries wouldn't let the hand die, 
and because (being a late bid) it won't fool 
our partner as to raises. 

Still worse is the idea that if a player hold 
a long suit (headed by the ace) and nothing 
else in his hand, he should bid two in that suit 
so that his partner, knowing it to be pro- 
tected, may go to no-trumps. (Note the 
difference between this conception and that 
other which makes the two-bid prohibitive to 
no-trumps and to any bid from the partner. 
How distinguish the one from the other?) 

This is really very bad. All long weak 
hands should be saved for second-round bids 
and gladly forfeited if there should be no 



Fallacies 



63 



second round. Hands may be weak in two 
ways: in trumps, or in side-suit. A hand 
that has long trumps (even with ace-king at 
the top) and no side trick whatever, is a weak 
hand and should be bid on the second round. 
Also, a hand which has side-suit but long 
weak trumps (queen- or jack-high) should be 
passed on the first round, unless an adver- 
sary's bid has released it. 

See how disastrous may be this opening of 
''two" on a long weak suit and as an invit- 
ation to no-trumps : 





^ AK54 
* AK2 

<> 75 

4^ K Q 8 3 




^10 7 6 
4^ J96 
K J 10 4 
4 A65 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ Q J92 

♦ Q8753 

— 

♦ J 10 4 2 




V 83 
4^ 10 4 
<> AQ986 
♦ 97 


32 



64 Master-Auction 

Z opened with ''Two diamonds," to show 
that he had a long weak suit headed by the 
ace, and nothing else. Also, to invite no- 
trumps. Y, being another player of that 
same school, went happily to no-trumps — and 
to defeat. He took one trick in dummy, and 
five in his own hand. 

■ Properly bid, the hand should have gone 
thus: 

Z, "Pass"; (his hand, alone is certainly 
not worth a bid, nor does it permit one) ; A 
"Pass"; "Y," "A no-trump"; B, "Pass"; 
Z, "Two diamonds," (a warning of weak- 
ness and danger) ; closed. Z scores three- 
odd diamonds, with simple honors against 
him. 

One more fallacy must I note — though 
this one, I am happy to say, is rapidly losing 
ground. 



Fallacies 



65 



^ 97 
4^ 862 
J954 
4^ 1087 3 




^ J 10 8 6 2 

*7 

10 876 

4^ K64 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ 543 

4i AKQ 10 954 

Oa 
4^ 95 




^ AKQ 
4^ J3 
KQ32 
itk AQJ2 





Z opens with '*A no-trump"; A passes; 
Y is too poor even to give a warning over-call ; 
the bid thus comes to B, who wants Z to 
play his no-trumps — provided there may be a 
way to lead clubs without delay. The lead, 
unfortunately, is not his. If he mentions his 
clubs (in order to insure a club-lead from A) 
he will be sure to kill the no-trumps, and he 
fears that he will drive one of his adversaries 
to hearts or spades — against either of which 
suits he might be unable to bid his clubs 
sufficiently high. 



66 Master -Auction 

To avoid this, B says ''Two diamonds" — 
on his assurance that diamonds must be 
protected in Z's hand since clubs are not 
(one unguarded suit is all that is permitted 
to a legitimate no-trumper). Also, if Z goes 
tip in his suit (as B feels sure that he will), 
A will lead his highest diamond and B's 
iDrilliancy will have its reward. 

This is all very well if we stop right where 
we are and admire. But suppose we push 
the question a bit farther! 

As Z, I can affirm most positively that I 
■should leave B with his minor-suit bid rather 
than raise my own suit. You see, I've 
watched that trick before and I know it by 
heart. I should feel assured of making two 
rounds of trumps, three of hearts, and one — 
at least — of spades. Why then should I 
worry over B's diamonds? 

Left with his bid, wouldn't he have a 
lovely time? 

But, since nothing but actual demon- 
stration will make anyone believe that I 



Fallacies 67 

should not bid against the diamond-bid, let 
us suppose that I do. I will say ''Two no- 
trumps." A has certainly two raises for 
diamonds; he has four trumps which con- 
stitute * ' a trick, ' ' he has a club singleton for 
one raiser, he has a guarded king of spades for 
another raiser, and he believes his partner's 
bid to be genuine. He says "Three dia- 
monds," and Y passes. 

B now finds himself the victim of his own 
false bid. He must say ''Four Clubs" as a 
defense against his brilliancy. Z passes — 
chuckling; and B is exactly where he would 
have been had he made an honest bid in the 
first place. 

But A thinks that his partner is using the 
"Shift" — naming first the higher of two 
possible suits and then the lower. As the 
first suit fits A's hand much better than the 
second, he must carry the bid back — being 
able to do so without increase of contract. A 
says "Four diamonds." And it is not until 
B, in despair, has gone to "Five clubs (and 



68 Master -Auction 

a double, and a defeat) that A is able to see 
what has been happening — and then it is 
too late. 

Mightn't B just as well have bid his suit 
against his adversaries' hearts or spades as 
against the poor partner whom he has fooled 
and befuddled? Mightn't he have remem- 
bered that he had a partner as well as an 
adversary, and that to misinform the latte-:* 
was to misinform the former? And finally, 
mightn't he have looked just a little bit 
farther than the end of his own nose and 
seen where this wonderful brilliancy of his 
would land him ? 

Take my word for it, there is only one 
brand of common sense, there is only one 
way of reasoning logically, and there is only 
one kind of Auction worth playing. Until 
secret signals are permitted, no spurious 
brilliancy will work against enemies with- 
out working equally against friends. When 
once you are used to real Auction, all 
these petty tricks seem too paltry to merit 



Fallacies 69 

notice. And since the game at its best 
is a combination of science, sense, and 
soundness, why should I be forced to plead 
for it? 



CHAPTER III 



SOME POINTS 



Were I asked to pick out two of the 
weakest points in the average game, I should 
not hesitate very long : I should point to the 
mad desire to take an early ruff in the strong 
trump-hand, and to the mistaken conception 
of a proper club- or diamond-bid on a clean 
score. The first of these two errors I will 
discuss in my chapter on the ruff ; the second, 
I will discuss at once. 

Inasmuch as one's effort should always be 
to go game in the hand, it follows that on a 
clean score, on the first round, and as an 
opening-bid from any player whatever 
(dealer, second-hand when the dealer has 
passed, third-hand after tv/o passes, or 
fourth-hand after three of them), a club- or 
70 



Some Points 71 

a diamond-bid should correctly be either an 
invitation to no-trumps, or an announcem^ent 
that game looks possible in the suit named 
— mere average help from the partner be- 
ing forth-coming. And since a five-trick 
hand is the exception rather than the rule, 
an opening club- or diamond-bid should 
generally be regarded as an invitation to 
no-trumps. On a clean score, the minor- 
suits are bid on hands that are almost, but 
not quite, no-trumpers themselves; there 
is ability, but no desire, to play the suit 
named. 

Never invite no-trumps if you should hid 
them. Bid them light. Bid them when- 
ever you can (unless you have something 
better, in the shape of a good heart- or spade- 
make); don't ask your partner to bid no- 
trumps when you should do it yourself. But 
on those hands when you have almost, but 
not quite, a no-trumper, bid *'A club," or 
"A diamond," provided that you have a legiti- 
mate club- or diamond-bid and are willing to 



72 Master -Auction 

play your suit, if left with it. Your partner 
may not be able to accept your invitation, 
the adversaries may not bid, and you will be 
in a sad box if you have made a false bid 
and are left with it. 

On a first round, a clean score, and as an 
opener, in order to bid clubs or diamonds you 
MUST hold at least five trumps with ace or 
king at the top, they must total seven points 
counting every honor two and every plain 
card one, and you should also hold enough 
outside strength to make your hand almost 
(but not quite) a no-trumper. Otherwise, 
reserve your club- or diamond-bid till a later 
round, and sacrifice it without regret should 
there be no such round. 

A few concrete examples may serve to 
make this clearer. In every case it is taken 
for granted that the score is clean, that it 
is the first round, and that no previous player 
has bid. 

The following hand, contrary to popular 
opinion, is not a proper club-bid : 



Some Points 73 

^ K 

♦ KJ 10 86543 

Ok 

4 765 

That is an actual hand which was sent me 
from Ohio, with a query as to whether it 
would not warrant an opening club-bid on a 
clean score. Most certainly not. Does it 
look like game-in-the-hand in clubs — with 
those seven possible losers? (As a matter 
of fact, the ace-queen of clubs lay immedi- 
ately over it.) I'll confess it doesn't to me. 
Is there the necessary quick outside trick in 
the shape of an ace or a guarded king ? There 
certainly isn't. Therefore the bid is barred 
as a genuine suit-bid, and as an invitation 
to no-trumps it would be a sorry joke. Look 
at those scattered unestablished clubs, no 
two of them touching, save the jack and ten. 
Think how long it might take to establish 
them, and how the partner's clubs might 
well be gone before the process was accom- 
plished. Notice the lack of side-re-entry, 



74 Master -Auction 

once the clubs are set up. The hand is 
neither a serious club-hand nor an invitation 
to no-trumps, and it should certainly never 
be bid as an opener. Later, against adverse 
hearts, spades, diamonds, or no-trumps, it 
is biddable. Against a partner's no-trump 
bid (with no bid from the intervening adver- 
sary) it is an obligatory "Two clubs" — from 
weakness. I should also bid it against a 
partner's heart or diamond, as an announce- 
ment of my singleton. If my partner bid 
spades, I'd give him my hand in support. I'd 
even raise him. The king of clubs would be 
**a trick," and the two singletons would be 
raisers. However, with only three trumps in 
the hand, but three ruffs could be taken. 

Returning to the possible opening club- 
bid, I know that many players would be 
dazzled by those two singletons. Singletons 
are absolute fetishes to many players. But 
in this hand, except by unusual luck, they 
must both count as losers. And when their 
secret is discovered, the adversaries may well 



Some Points 75 

be five tricks in, and the long trumps won't 
hurt them. They may even capture some 
of those trumps. I shall discuss this hand 
in the following chapter, giving you the entire 
distribution of the cards. All that concerns 
us now, is that it is not an opening club-bid 
on any score lower than eighteen. 
Nor is this hand: 

^ K4 

♦ AQ 1096 3 
954 

4 87 

Nor is this — for the reason that it is a no- 
trumper itself : 

^Q94 
4I» AK858 
10 2 

♦ Q10 9 

Here, on the contrary, is a perfect club -bid : 

9 AKQ 

4k A KQ742 

87 

4 10 4 



76 Master -Auction 

That hand, you see, can play a legitimate 
club, if left with it, and can also assist no- 
trumps most beautifully. It isn't, however, 
a no-trump in itself, because it leaves two 
suits woefully unguarded. This hand, also, 
is good: 

^ Q4 

4t KQ J874 

32 

4^ KQ2 

Here is another beautiful opening club-bid : 

<s? J10 4 
4^ AK J74 
K83 

♦ Q2 

And as with a club, so with a diamond. 
Here is a hand which was sent me, which 
certainly does not warrant an opening dia- 
mond-bid on a clean score : 

♦ Q J53 
AKJ82 
4^ Q762 



Some Points 77 

Coming to those hands which are not 
invitations to no-trumps, but which are 
legitimate club- or diamond-bids per se, they 
would necessarily be big hands to make five- 
odd look possible. As this : 

^ J10 4 

*2 

OAKQ98632 

♦ a 

If you make an opening-bid of "A dia- 
mond" on a hand similar to that, it is because 
you want to play diamonds and not no- 
trumps {not however, because of your hon- 
ors). Even on a clean score, there is a 
good chance of game, and it is certainly 
better at suit than at no-trumps. So if your 
partner, thinking he is accepting your in- 
vitation, bids no-trumps, go back to your 
suit — and your story is told. You should 
take, and he should then offer, his general 
strength as support to your diamond-hand, 
and as a help to game. 

A mere legitimate diamond-hand (five 



78 Master -Auction 

trumps, ace or king high, seven points, and a 
quick outside trick) may be bid to play when 
the score is sixteen or over; at that score, 
your partner should not regard the bid as an 
invitation to no-trumps. And at a score of 
eighteen or more, a club-bid may be similarly 
made and handled. 

When you have made these principles a 
part of your bidding armor, then — and not 
before — can you rank as a perfect club- or 
diamond-bidder. 

Don't let honors in either of the minor- 
suits impress you to the extent of influenc- 
ing your bidding. In the major-suits, that 
necessarily occurs to some extent — more's 
the pity — but not in the minor ones. And 
please don't ever forget the significance of an 
opening club- or diamond-bid on a clean score. 
When I'm playing with a trustworthy partner 
and he makes such a bid, I'll go to no-trumps 
on one guarded queen and two guarded jacks 
— and sometimes on less. 

I have recently been asked to make rather a 



Some Points 79 

difficult decision in the following case : ' ' What 
is the best lead against one no-trump, from 
the following hand?" 

^ KJ42 

4^ A6 

AQ63 

4b KQ5 

In the first place, I can affirm most posi- 
tively that I wouldn't be apt to be leading 
against one no-trump, with that hand. It is 
rarely very profitable to play in the hope of 
defeating a one-bid. A one- trick defeat is 
certainly better than an adverse victory ; but 
it isn't any wonderful windfall, at that. If I 
held those cards and one no-trump were bid 
on my right (as it must have been in this case) „ 
I should almost certainly say "Two no- 
trumps" — hoping for a three-bid in some suit 
from my partner, hut perfectly willing to play 
my own hid if he could not ohlige me. Four 
guarded suits: two aces, two kings, two 
queens, and a jack — all guarded: the adverse 
strength all on the proper side of me (so that 



8o Master -Auction 

on all leads from all hands but my own, I 
should be able to play after it) : yes, I think 
I can fairly say that I should never be leading 
against an adverse one no-trump. 

However, that isn't the question. I am 
asked to say what card I should choose, 
provided I did lead. 

I should certainly make a freak lead. My 
stock-lead, according to rule, would be my 
fourth-best heart or diamond — those being 
my only four-card suits. In the former case 
I should be leading from a minor ten-ace, 
and in the latter from a major ten-ace. I 
should greatly fear leading up to the ace- 
queen of hearts (in the actual hand, the 
declarant held the ace-queen-ten), or up to 
the king- jack of diamonds (which was also 
the precise actual situation) . Both red suits 
should preferably come to me. 

Nor should I want to lead a spade, for the 
reason that my spades are but barely 
guarded. Should the declarant hold the ace 
and others (as a matter of fact, he held the 



Some Points 8i 

ace- jack) I should certainly let him be the 
one to lead the suit — either from his own hand 
or from dummy. Then I should be sure of 
making both of my honors. 

Could I but make my king and jack of 
hearts, my ace and queen of diamonds, my 
ace of clubs, and my king and queen of spades, 
I should defeat the bid in my own unaided 
hand. But that would be too much to hope 
— for the reason that every time I took a 
trick I should be forced to lead, and leading 
would prove my Waterloo. 

Although all of these embarrassments would 
be sure to assail me later, for the first lead, at 
least, I should avoid an obliging lead up to 
obvious strength. I should lead the six of 
clubs. Then if my partner took the trick 
and returned the suit, or if my adversary did, 
I should be in precisely the same box that I 
occupied in the first place. Indeed, I might 
even establish my adversary's long suit and 
have to discard on it. 

Yet the chances in my favor would be 



82 Master-Auction 

good. If my adversary had protected ten- 
aces in both red suits and the ace of spades, 
he must have made his bid on general 
strength, rather than on a long suit with side- 
re-entry. That would be my first piece of 
good luck; and the second might be that I 
might either hit my partner's suit, or that he 
would take the first round and not return it — 
leading, preferably to dummy's weakness in 
one of the red suits or in spades. 

My actual choice of lead (independent of 
the misinformation it would give my partner) 
would be the ace of clubs — followed by the 
six, to throw the lead. But it would be too 
dangerous. My partner would consider an 
ace-lead against no-trumps a sign of great 
length or great strength. His one thought 
would be to unblock. He would throw his 
king, or his queen, or whatever honor he 
might happen to hold. Not knowing that I 
was merely seeking to dodge the lead, he 
would play legitimately — and between us, we 
should establish all the declarant's low clubs. 



Some Points 83 

No, much as I should want to throw the 
lead, I should never dare to make an opening 
lead of the ace of clubs. The six would be 
safer. Then, should the suit be thrown back 
to me, there would be nothing for it but to 
lead the fourth-best card of one of my red 
suits — sacrificing the one in order to safe- 
guard the other. And every time the lead 
came back to me, I should again choose that 
same suit which I had elected to throw to the 
dogs. 

When playing against the make, we are 
very fond of giving our partner a chance to 
trump a trick in a side-suit ; but we are wont 
to pride ourselves on the fact that we would 
never put him in the position where we know 
that he would ruff, only to be over-ruffed by 
the adversary. Let me now show you how 
fatuous is this pride, and how it sometimes 
pays to put a partner in the very position 
against which we so guard him. 

This hand was sent me from New York 



84 



Master - Auc tion 



City, by one of the best players and theorists 
of my acquaintance : 



< 


C? AQ9 5 43 
#1 10 4 
<> 542 
♦ 10 6 


<5 K 10 2 

*Q87 
A J73 

♦ 875 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ J8 

4^ 62 

10 9 

4b KQ J9432 


t 


^ 76 

♦ AK J95, 

6 KQ86 

♦ a 


3 



The score was i6-o in favor of Z-Y on the 
first game of the rubber — which certainly did 
not warrant the wild bidding done by B. 
He wasn't working to save rubber, and he 
should never have plunged so madly to save 
the first game. I fear he was one of those 
inveterate bidders who can never stop, short 
of disaster. 

Note that for Z-Y the suits have no rank, 
except in the case of clubs. It takes three- 



Some Points 85 

odd clubs, and two-odd anything else, to 
score game. A diamond is as valuable as a 
no-trump. Suit, in such cases, even minor- 
suit, should be given preference over no- 
trump except in the case of an absolutely 
invincible hand, or that of a hundred aces. 

This was the bidding : 

Z, "A club"; A, "Pass"; Y, ''A heart"; 
B, "A spade"; Z, "Two clubs"; A, "Two 
spades"; after which, Z bid clubs to four, B 
went to four spades, Z doubled, and the 
bidding closed. 

Now note the play : 

Z led the king of clubs. After dummy 
went down, nine good players out of ten 
would have stopped clubs (fearing to estab- 
lish dummy's queen) and would have led a 
heart to Y's bid. Not so this Z. He led a 
second round of clubs — Y having played ten 
to his king-lead. After that second round, 
Z knew that his partner was out of clubs, but 
he also knew that B was out of them. Again, 
nine good players out of ten would now have 



86 Master- Auction 

switched to hearts, rather than ask a part- 
ner to ruff — only to be over-ruffed. This Z 
played to kill that queen trick in dummy, and 
to avoid giving his adversary the chance to dis- 
card a loser. When trumps were gone, the 
queen of clubs would be a certain trick for B, 
a trick on which he could discard one of the 
losing cards in his own hand ("always avoid 
giving the weak hand a ruff, or the strong 
hand a discard")- Moreover, there was a 
sure re-entry in dummy in the shape of that 
ace of diamonds. Z led another club, drew 
dummy's queen, let his partner ruff, let B 
over-ruff, and killed the chance of a later 
discard. And this he did, in spite of that 
tempting chance to lead his partner's suit 
through a guarded king. 

Z made three tricks at a hundred apiece on 
that hand. That would oft'set a losing rub- 
ber, or give a huge winning one. It relieved 
Z-Y of all worry as far as that particular 
rubber was concerned. Had this been the 
second game instead of the first, Z would 



Some Points 87 

have bid his clubs to five in preference to 
doubHng. But on the first game, his adver- 
sary's poor bidding offered him a wonderful 
and profitable chance. 

Remember the lessons in this hand : 

Avoid giving the strong hand discards! 

Put your partner in the position of ruffing, 
only to he over -ruffed, if by so doing you can 
kill an adverse established card. 

When dummy has an established card and 
also sure re-entry, do your best to kill that card 
before you relinquish the lead. Once gone 
from your hands, you may never get the lead 
back till it is too late. 

While on the subject of discard, I must 
remind you how valuable is the discard of a 
loser, and how you — as declarant — should 
never forget to scheme for such discards. 
Suppose you are playing spades and the first 
lead is a heart. You have the ace and the 
six, and you take the first trick. That six 
should immediately be marked in your hand 
as with a spot-light. It is the card you hate. 



88 



Master -Auction 



It is the card you must plan to unload. It is 
the card that will lose you a trick unless you 
get rid of it before the adversary can again 
lead hearts. Of course, it is not always 
possible to rid one's self of such cards; but it 
is often so, and the chance is often lost. 
Because there is a rule that trumps should be 
led early, many players will rush to that 
course, lose the first round of trumps, and 
get a second round of that adverse suit led 
straight back to them. Take this hand 
(which I have published before, but not to this 
end. It is too valuable an example to waste) : 

c|> 7 6 5 4 3 2 

875 
4^ 109 62 



^ QJ9862 


Y 




^ 10 7 4 3. 


4^ 10 


A 


B 


4^ AQJ 


643 


K Q 10 


4 873 


Z 




4^ KJ6 



^ AK5 
4^ K98 
AJ92 
♦ AQ4 



Some Points 89 

Z bids a perfectly beautiful "One no- 
trump" on four guarded suits, three aces, 
two kings, a queen, and a jack. And he can 
no more make his one-odd than he can fly 
to the moon — because of his partner's hand. 
A passes, and Y makes the necessary over- 
call of ''Two clubs." B passes; his position 
and his short suits make a bid of two no- 
trumps unadvisable — and he has no other 
possible one. 

Y plays his two clubs. In spite of the four 
honors against him, he can score five-odd. 

The first lead will come from B, and Z will 
be dummy. Remember this, for it is revers- 
ing the usual position of a diagram. 

B will certainly lead his king of diamonds 
from two touching honors. His only other 
possible choice would be the poor one of the 
trey of hearts. It makes no difference in the 
result of the hand ; whatever he leads, Y can 
take five-odd. We will suppose B to lead 
the king of diamonds and Z to lay down his 
hand as dummy. 



90 Master-Auction 

It is immediately apparent that he has a 
chance to use the Bath Coup; but it is a 
chance to be avoided in this case — for obvious 
reasons. (I hope you all know the Bath 
Coup, but we are not now concerned with it.) 
Y plays dummy's ace of diamonds. With 
nine trumps in his two hands it might be 
supposed that he would feel impelled to lead 
them at once — getting into his own hand, 
perhaps, by trumping the five of hearts in 
order to lead trumps properly, up to a 
guarded king instead of away from it. Then, 
on the first trump lead, B would play ace, and 
would immediately lead his commanding 
diamond (playing to save game). By taking 
two rounds of trumps and one of diamonds, 
he would hold Y down from game-in-the-hand. 

On taking the first diamond in dummy, Y 
finds himself still with two losing diamonds in 
his own hand. He should immediately plan 
to unload them before losing the lead. To 
lead trumps would be to forfeit the lead. Y 
should lead dummy's two master hearts, 



Some Points 



91 



discarding on them his own two losing dia- 
monds. Playing thus, he will never be 
caught on a diamond round; in this way 
(and in no other) can he go game. He does 
it by the immediate discard of two losers. 

The discard can also be used as a means 
of making an adversary unguard himself. 
By leading your own long suit, you can 
greatly inconvenience him, as here: 

♦ Q73 

A3 

4^ A Q 10 4 3 2 



^ KQ 




Y 




^ J 10 985432 


♦ — 


A 




B 


4^9 


K 10 9 4 




QJ65 


4 K J98765 




Z 




♦ — 



^7 

4k AK J 10 86542 
872 
♦ 

It was a clean score and Z passed (even 
at that score he might have hoped for game 
at clubs, I think. Two tricks in his partner's 



92 Master -Auction 

hand and he is safe. But if he bids his clubs, 
and if his partner goes to no-trumps, Z must 
go back to his clubs.) 

Z passed, and A bid "A spade." I find 
that in Y's place, some players pass (from 
pleasure) and others try to force by bidding 
"One no-trump." If Y bids no-trump B 
might pass, or he might bid hearts. If he 
passes Z must positively over-call with 
"Two clubs" — from weakness. A will then 
say "Two spades," Y will pass, and B will 
warn with "Three hearts" (which suit he 
would have bid on the first round, had his 
partner been left in with spades). 

In the actual hand, after a warning club-bid 
from Z and a heart-bid from B, Y went on 
with his no-trumps and played them. Tri- 
umphantly, of course, yet it was a poor bid. 
Suppose his partner's warning had been made 
on six clubs to the eight-spot. Then what 
about Y's no-trumper, with its one sole 
trick in the adversary's suit (hearts) and its 
very much split spades? 



Some Points 93 

However, Y played no-trumps, and what 
I want you particularly to notice is the way 
that A's hand was killed by nine discards on 
the adverse clubs. He had either to throw 
away all his spades, thus establishing Y's 
queen, or to unguard and throw his king of 
diamonds. He was rendered utterly help- 
less by the continued discards. 

Of course this is a phenomenal hand, and 
the discards are more numerous than can 
generally be forced. But the principle 
remains the same in less theatrical hands: 
either side can hurt the other by forcing 
discards of winners or of guards to winners. 
Either side can help the other by permitting 
discards of losers that guard nothing. 

When your hand is being forced in this 
way, don't unguard all your suits from fear 
of throwing high cards. Suppose you hold 
both black queens, each just barely guarded 
with two small cards. Neither suit has yet 
been led. You are being forced to discard 
on one of the red suits — we'll say diamonds. 



94 Master -Auction 

Three discards must you make. I implore 
you not to throw first one small club and then 
one small spade — thus unguarding both your 
queens. Choose one suit to discard and one 
to keep. Perhaps your partner's bid, or his 
play, will help you to this choice. Perhaps 
dummy will. If nothing helps you, help 
yourself. Let us say that you choose to 
throw the spades and keep the clubs. On 
the first diamond lead throw one small 
spade. On the second, throw another small 
spade. And on the third, throw your 
queen itself. Then your clubs, at least, are 
guarded. Your partner will see what you 
are doing, and if he has any sense and any 
spades, he will guard the suit that you are 
throwing. 

Having spoken of the well-known over- 
call from no-trumps, I have a word to say 
about a warning over-call from a partner's 
trump bid. While not so important, not so 
obligatory, not so well understood, as the 
no-trump call-off, there are yet hands where 



Some Points 95 

it is strongly advisable — even those where it 
is the only decent course. 

When you hold a singleton in the suit that 
your partner has bid, it may well be a draw- 
back to his victory. Your partner may 
have bid on five trumps : with but one in your 
hand the adversaries (between them) must 
hold seven. That is to say, there are more 
trumps against the make than with it. Two 
trumps in your hand will always give your 
partner *'the balance of power"; he will be 
sure to have the bigger half of thirteen. But 
your singleton may prove his Waterloo. 
True, after the first round he will always pull 
two adverse trumps to one of his own; but 
trump-pulling may prove too expensive a 
pastime for indulgence. Also, he will have 
to lead away from his strong hand, instead 
of up to it. 

Now, there are many times when you hold 
a singleton and can not warn your partner 
of the fact. Take this hand for instance: 
your partner has bid "A heart" and the 



96 Master -Auction 

next adversary has passed; you hold these 
cards : 

4k AKQ J 
<> 10 8 73 
4^ J432 

Poor as you are, you can not tell him so for 
you have no bid. Moreover, those four clubs 
of yours may well prove helpful to him; 
although not trumps, they will probably take 
at least three tricks — and they may take four. 
Therefore, though you can not bid against 
your partner's heart the fact need not parti- 
cularly worry you. 

Again, on this hand (the situation being the 
same) I would not have you bid : 

^7 

♦ Q862 
J754 
4k A983 

Your only possible bid would be "A no- 
trump" and I should dislike it greatly. It is 
a terrible risk to bid no-trump when you hold 



Some Points 97 

as light a hand as this, and a singleton in your 
partner's suit. You are weak enough to 
need his suit, and with but one of its cards 
in your own hand you may never be able to 
establish and use it. Suppose, for instance, 
he has bid his heart on this: 

9? AQ98652 
4^ K93 
10 4 

Your first heart lead will be to his queen, 
and it may lose. Then to get into his hand, 
you will be forced to take out his only re-entry 
— the king of clubs. You can make the ace 
of hearts, and by that time, the suit is dead 
as far as you are concerned. It is established 
against you. 

But when your partner bids "A heart" 
(or **one" in any other suit), and you find 
yourself with a singleton trump and a per- 
fectly possible call-off which, though good as 
trumps, would make a poor side-suit, let me 



98 Master -Auction 

beg you to bid that suit once, at least. As 
on this: 

97 
Jh K97 

<> J 10 96542 

♦ Q2 

Those diamonds, though very useful as 
trumps, would make a wretched side-suit for 
your partner's hearts. Make a warning 
over-call of danger, to show your singleton 
and your long (though weak) suit. On the 
contrary, should your diamonds be these: 

^7 

♦ K9732 
AKQ5 2 

♦ Q2 

there will be no necessity for the over-call 
(your suit being an excellent help, even 
though it is not trumps). Though still 
permissible to over-call the heart with the 
diamond, it is not so incumbent upon you as 
in the former case. 



Some Points 99 

Here is another hand which demands the 
over-call : 

^ QJ98643 
<C> 10 65 2 

♦ a 

I have a friend who makes a perfectly 
faultless partner except on this one head. 
Constantly will she leave me in my bid when 
she holds a singleton trump and a perfectly 
correct m^eans of telling me so. With a long 
weak suit, useless except as trumps, she 
passes. Then she always comes forward 
with the same remark: "I didn't know 
whether I should interfere with you or not." 
And my answer is always the same: ''You 
knew something which I didn't know, which 
might make a great difference to me, and 
which was perfectly easy for you to tell. 
Why didn't you tell it ? " 

There is a very useful bit of subtlety that 
is often neglected, and that is the voluntary 



100 



Master -Auction 



losing of a trick, in order to establish some- 
thing on which to discard. Here is an 
example : 

^10 9 4 
4» A2 
A743 
4^ KQ86 



V 


Y 




^ 63 


♦ Q 10 9 4 


A 


B 


4^ K8765 


<> Q J 10 5 


<> 96 


4 A 10 9 7 5 


Z 




4 J432 



<V? AKQJ8752 
4^ J3 
K82 

Z is playing hearts. A has bid spades 
once and has had one raise from B. A's 
original lead is the queen of diamonds from 
two touching honors. Z takes the trick in 
either hand, and he is then left with a losing 
diamond and a losing club — a five-trick hand. 
After exhausting trumps (leaving himself 
in dummy on the second round) , he leads the 
king of spades and lets it go through, in place 



Some Points 



lOI 



oj trumping it — though he knows from the 
bidding that A holds the ace. On the king 
of spades Z discards a loser. He then has the 
queen of spades firmly established in dummy ; 
on it he can discard his other loser. What- 
ever may be led, he is absolutely assured of 
making a small slam. Did he trump the 
spade-rounds the ace would never be drawn, 
and dummy's spade would never be estab- 
lished. There would be no chance to dis- 
card those two losers of his. 

Remembering this principle, and reversing 
it, adversaries should never wittingly ''set 
up" a suit in dummy, on which the declarant 
may get discards when trumps are drawn. 
Take this situation : Z may be playing hearts, 
or spades, or diamonds: A is the leader, and 
Y is the dummy: 

♦ Q J 10 5 2 



A AK73 




1 02 Master -Auction 

A's correct blind lead is the king of clubs. 
But the minute he sees dummy he must know 
better than to make a second club-lead ; to do 
so would be to establish the suit for his adver- 
sary. Let him lead anything else. Even if 
clubs should be led by his adversary, let him 
lose the trick and retain his ace rather than 
make all those clubs good on the board. 

The lead of king from ace-king- jack is 
always correct — whether against trumps or 
no-trumps. But a second lead of the ace 
(or of any card in the suit) is poor. The 
first lead is from two touching honors. The 
second would be from two split honors. 
After the first round, another suit should be 
chosen, in order that spades may come from 
some other hand up to the original leader. 

By some authorities, ace-king-ten is con- 
sidered a very unsafe combination. They 
strongly advise against leading from it. But 
the first lead of the king does not appear 



Some Points 103 

dangerous to me. The second lead is the 
one to avoid — unless your partner should 
play a noticeably high card on the king; 
that would look like an echo and a third- 
round ruff, and would make the situation 
worth following up. -^>^ 

There is a rule that says that from any 
three honors, your lead is always one of those 
honors — whether against trumps or no- 
trumps. According to my belief there is no 
exception to this rule; even in that dread 
combination, a double major ten-ace (ace- 
queen-ten), I should not greatly fear the 
first lead of the ace. Of course, I'd rather 
lead another suit if I could; but if forced to 
choose the ten-ace suit, I should lead my ace 
and see what developed — what dummy 
showed, what my partner played to the trick 
(encouragement or discouragement) and so 
on. But I have never found anyone else 
ranking as an authority who will commit 
him- or herself, orally or in print, on this 
head. "Let it alone" is all that they will 



104 



Master -Auction 



say. I answer, "Yes, certainly — if you can. 
But suppose you're forced to lead it. Sup- 
pose everything else is worse?" Then I 
always find I'm growing unpopular, and I 
never can get any definite answer. 



A good play which you would all do well to 
remember, is leading a low card to trump 
while you still hold the commanding card, or 
cards, of the suit. Let me illustrate: 

9 642 
4^ J8743 
96542 

♦ A966 

03 

4^ QJ 10 9642 

^ AKQ987 

4i 10 2 

A 

4 AK53 

Z is playing hearts. A has bid diamonds, 
and B has made an excellent warning over- 



^ 


J 10 3 




Y 




4k 



KQ 

K Q J 10 8 7 


A 




B 


4 


87 




Z 





Some Points 105 

call in spades. He and A have raised spades 
to three, and Z has gone to four hearts, 
unassisted. If he uses the method I am 
about to describe he will make his bid ; other- 
wise, he will be defeated. 

A may lead the king of diamonds or his 
eight of spades. The result would be the 
same; the spade would be more probable, 
and we will suppose that he chooses it. 

Most players in Z's place would discard in 
dummy and take the trick in their own hand — 
being able to do that and still command the 
suit. Then when trumps were drawn they 
would still have two losing spades and two 
losing clubs, which would spell defeat. 

Z should immediately trump the spade in 
dummy while he holds up the two master cards. 
Dummy needs no discards — it would be 
impossible to get rid of his losers. A quick 
ruff in the weak hand is always a splendid 
thing. If trumps are drawn dummy will be 
unable to take two ruffs. With nine trumps 
in his two hands, Z is practically assured of 



1 06 Master -Auction 

exhausting the adverse trumps without dum- 
my's help. And finally, if B has bid spades 
so high, lacking both ace and king, he has 
great length; great length in his hand might 
mean shortness in A's; not, however, a single- 
ton, since A has raised spades. Therefore, 
A can thus be counted on to play spades 
twice — ^just often enough to let dummy 
trump Z's two losers. 

Z trumps the spade in dummy and plays 
his own trey. He leads a diamond and 
takes. He leads the five of spades and 
trumps in dummy. He then exhausts 
trumps, losing nothing but two rounds of 
clubs. 

When playing no-trumps, you have often 
a long weak suit whose length (in your own 
hand and dummy's) seems to offer two or 
three possible rounds, and which is yet rather 
hopeless looking. I am going to show you 
what seems to me the best way of managing 
it. 



Some Points 107 

You are the declarant and the suit is no- 
trumps. Dummy holds these diamonds : 

8643 

You, yourself, hold these: 
A9752 

Now, though diamonds are your weakest 
suit, their length is noticeable — and in no- 
trumps length is strength. While you still 
hold re-entry in the adversary's suit, go at those 
diamonds. It is too late to do it when there 
is a suit established against you. It is 
always too late to finesse, or to lose volun- 
tarily, or to attempt any subtlety whatever, 
when there is a suit established against you. 
But while you still have a stopper in your 
enemy's suit, try to make something of those 
diamonds. Suppose you have the ace-king- 
queen of hearts, and the ace-king-queen of 
clubs: surely you can make such obvious 
tricks as those at any time. Don't rush to 



io8 Master -Auction 

them yet. The enemy's suit is spades; you 
are supposed to have taken his first lead and 
to hold still a quick sure stopper. This is 
your chance to do something with your 
diamonds. 

Lead a middle card — one of a touching 
sequence. No matter how low it is, lead it. 
With only four diamonds against you, pro- 
bably both adversaries will take the trick. 
(In this hand, I should lead the deuce up to 
dummy's eight.) Then, after taking the 
round, they will lead spades, pulling your last 
stopper. It is now too late to be wily. Lead 
the ace of diamonds. As likely as not, both 
the other adverse diamonds will fall on it, 
and all your remaining ones will be made 
good. If this does not happen, drop dia- 
monds and go to your obvious suits. 

I can not tell you how often I have made 
this play successfully. I have had partners 
go into shrieks of laughter over that first 
diamond-lead — a deuce up to an eight-spot; 
and I have had those same partners adopt 



Some Points 109 

the method after they have seen how it 
works, 

A recipe for a hopeless hand is to take all 
you can get. Play like the veriest amateur. 
Skim off all your aces and kings before you 
give up the lead. Don't try to establish 
anything when it is plain that you cannot do 
it, when your command of the adverse suit 
is gone, and when the hand is marked as a 
deadly loser. Take whatever is obvious. 
Every trick laid by lessens your losses. 

Don't double a non-game-going bid, when 
doubling it would give your adversary an 
otherwise impossible game (provided the 
double failed). Don't double three hearts 
(24) and turn them to 48 — and game. Of 
course if you are certain of winning your 
double, make it. But oh, the "certain" 
doubles that I have seen go down in woe! 

I have often been asked how to reckon 
losers. Count all guards as losers, and the 



no Master -Auction 

things that they guard as takers. If you 
lack the ace, king, or queen of trumps, count 
one of your trumps as a loser. Sometimes 
more than one trump must be reckoned 
as losers — particularly when the hand is not 
very long in trumps. But in a long trump 
hand, I should count but one of my small 
trumps a loser — and not even that, if I 
held the ace, the king, and the queen of 
trumps. 

A hand which is not biddable on the first 
round frequently becomes so on the second — 
as in the case of all long weak hands. But 
a raise has always been a raise, immediately 
or never. An impossible raise has never 
become a possible one by waiting. Novv^ 
however, certain players are suggesting that 
an all-trump raise (which has heretofore been 
barred on any round) might allowably be 
made on a later round, after the partner had 
raised himself and thus shown more than com^ 
mon strength. As for instance: 



Some Points iii 

Your partner has bid hearts and the adver- 
sary has bid spades. You hold this: 

^ K Q 8 5 3 
«t» 10 6 
J63 

^984 

You can not raise, for no one may raise on 
trumps alone. You have no outside trick, 
no singleton, and no blank suit — your enemy 
will lead, and he won't lead trumps. There- 
fore, you must pass. 

But if your partner raises his own hearts, 
it is now contended by certain players that he 
shows real strength and that you might thus 
be permitted to give him an all-trump raise 
on another round. I am not particularly 
dazzled by the brilliancy of this idea, nor has 
it yet become anything more than a sugges- 
tion. I merely miention the birth of the 
thought; should it become accepted, a de- 
ferred raise would always be marked as an 
all-trump raise. 



112 Master -Auction 

Eight trumps is considered a minimum 
for an all-trump make — with not an outside 
trick in the hand. Even with so many, the 
hand holds five losers. There are those who 
can not resist seven trumps (and no outside 
trick), there are even those who can not resist 
six — but they are weak bidders. Eight 
trumps is the minimum all-trump make, and 
even it is far from brilliant. It is a better 
second-round bid than a first. All weak 
hands should be saved till the second round. 
A hand may be weak in trumps (lacking 
the tops) and it may equally be weak 
in side-suit. In either case it is a weak 
hand. 

Re-entry: Write that word large in the 
list of those you must remember. Look out 
for re-entry. If you have a long suit that 
needs establishing, keep a re-entry card in 
the same hand, if possible. Work to estab- 
lish re-entry. I have seen an eight-spot 
turned into a re-entry card. I will show 



Some Points 



113 



you three hands that will help impress 
this important matter of re-entry in your 
minds. 

♦ J 10 9 7 4 
Q 10 9 

♦ 753 



^ Q J 10 7 5 

653 
4 Q 10 8 4 




^93 
♦ A862 
J8742 
4^ J9 



^ A642 

♦ KQ3 

AK 

4 AK62 



Z is playing no-trumps. In his two hands 
he has three aces, all four of the kings, and 
two of the queens. In other words, he holds 
nine of the twelve high cards. He has a 
small-slam hand. And yet the original Z 
made but two-odd — thanks to a mistaken 
play on the first round. (This, in spite of 
the fact that some players claim that all 



114 Master -Auction 

games are lost on the last five rounds. Such 
a claim is absurd. A game may be lost 
whenever a mistake is made, and a mistake 
may be made at any time.) 

A leads the queen of hearts, and Z ruins 
his hand by playing dummy's king to the 
round — that king which is the sole re-entry 
for the long clubs and the queen of diamonds. 

True, the rule says "cover an honor with 
an honor." True, again, the well-known 
course is to play "king ever, queen never" 
(king-and-one on the board, put him up; 
queen-and-two on the board, don't put her 
up). But rules are meant to be used with a 
fair amount of common sense. 

Z plays the king of hearts and leads a low 
club to his own king. B holds up his ace 
of clubs till the third round, and the hand is 
dead to everything over two-odd. By play- 
ing the ace of hearts to the first round, Z 
would have saved his sole-re-entry in the 
important hand. 

Here is another lesson in re-entry: 



Sonre Points 



115 



984 




Y 




♦ Q 10 86532 


A 




B 


0Q6 


•Tl. 






♦ 76 




Z 





9 7532 
♦ 

J97543 

♦ 852 

9 KJ9 

♦ 974 
<> 10 8 2 

♦ Q J 10 4 

9 A Q10 6 
Jft AK 3 

Oak 

♦ AK93 

Again, Z is playing no-trumps — this time 
with a hundred aces, three kings, and a 
queen. And again, two-odd is his maxi- 
mum if he neglects the important • matter 
of re-entry. 

A leads the six of clubs. Nearly all the 
players to whom I have given this hand have 
thrown the deuce of hearts on the round. 
Throw one of dummy's hearts in discard, 
AND THE HAND IS KILLED. Those hearts are 
Z's sole hope. 

In no-trumps, a fourth round cannot be 



1 1 6 Master -Auction 

trumped. Holding four hearts in each hand. 
Z is sure of being able to lead four rounds. 
With eight in his two hands, there are but 
five against him. It is far more than pro- 
bable that the adversaries will be exhausted 
before the fourth round. Dummy's highest 
heart is one spot higher than Z's lowest. It 

CAN THEREFORE BE TURNED* INTO RE-ENTRY 
FOR THE LONG DIAMONDS. 

Z must take the club round with his jack, 
throwing one of dummy's spades. He must 
lead his ace and king of diamonds. Then he 
must make his ace of hearts, and deliberately 
lose the queen and ten in order to establish 
dummy's seven. He can afford to do this 
because he still holds two re-entries in clubs, 
and can take any other lead that may be 
made. He makes five-odd. Had he heeded 
Z's first call-off, Y would have made a dia- 
mond grand slam, but the hundred aces 
would have been lost. 

One more hand will be sufficient to impress 
this important lesson of re-entry: 



Some Points 117 




^ 753 

♦ K76 

KQJ10 843 

♦ — 


♦ QJ 10 9832 
9752 

♦ 64 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ KQ J10 8 42 
06 

4b Q J 10 9 3 


i 


^ A96 
♦ A5 4 
A 
^ AK875: 


2 



A hundred aces have deafened Z's ears to a 
diamond over-call. And it is just as well, for 
he should have scored a grand slam in no- 
trumps with a hundred aces to boot — the 
highest possible score on any undoubled hand. 
But Z bungled. The lead was the queen of 
clubs and he put up dummy's king, killing 
re-entry for the diamonds and totally ruining 
his hand. 



An exceedingly pretty point has come 
under my notice several times recently. It 



II 



Master -Auction 



concerns an interior lead. I'll give you the 
diagram, and you must imagine the hand to 
be fairly well along. Z is playing any suit 
but clubs. A has just taken a trick, and 
must therefore lead. Y is dummy: 



4^ J 10 5 



* 


AQ82 




Y 


A 


B 




Z 



♦ K76 



«^ 943 



A's natural play would be to put the jack 
of clubs through dummy's ace-queen. By 
this play he indicates the ten. 

Dummy plays queen, and B wins the trick 
with the king. But it is the only trick that 
A-B take in the suit. Later, when Z is in 
his own hand, he remembers about that ten 
of A's. He leads the nine through it. 
Whether A covers or not, Z wins three rounds 
of clubs while his adversaries win one. 

Had A led his small club through the ace- 



Some Points 119 

queen, this could not have happened. Z 
would never finesse down to the nine-spot in 
his own hand — particularly as he could not 
read the suit from Z's lead. He would play 
dummy's queen and B would win the trick. 
Later, even though Z should lead his own 
nine toward dummy's ace-eight, he could 
not possibly prevent A from taking another 
round of the suit. A would cover the nine, 
Dummy would take with the ace, and A 
would be in command. He and his partner 
would win two rounds instead of one; this 
extra trick might save game or rubber, or 
might defeat the bid. 

This situation can arise only when Z 
holds both eight and nine in his two hands. 
It can arise only when A's jack is not quite 
guarded; (did he hold the jack, ten, and two 
others, he would naturally and safely lead his 
jack). But I have permuted the cards many 
times since this point occurred to me, and in 
far the greater number of cases, I find this 
to be the case: 



120 Master -Auction 

If you (as A) hold jack-ten and but one 
other card, it is safer to lead your small card 
through dummy's ace-queen than to lead 
your jack. Particularly is this true if the 
eight or nine lie on the board. It ceases to 
be true when your own third card is either 
the eight or the nine. I'll admit that the leaa 
of the small card fails to advise your partner 
as to the whereabouts of the ten. Never- 
theless, I have found it to pay. Try it out. 

To be constantly, or even frequently, 
defeated in one's bid is to stand convicted of 
over-bidding. Never to be defeated is proof 
of a timid and over-safe game (for it often 
pays to take a reasonable defeat). Between 
this Scylla and this Charybdis, what should 
be considered a good mean ? 

On a bid that is not forced by circum- 
stances, I consider a defeat of two tricks a 
maximum — except in those cases where 
unusual bad luck overthrows perfectly well- 
made calculations. Of course, in bidding to 



Some Points 121 

save rubber it is often profitable to forfeit 
several hundreds — ^provided you do not do it 
too often. But when the score makes no 
demands, good bidding should not lose more 
than two tricks — and not those very fre- 
quently. To do it twice is almost to discount 
one's own rubber, or to swell the adverse 
rubber discouragingly. 

There are cases where one's adversaries get 
an unexpected and unpreventable ruff or cross- 
ruff, cases where one's self and one's partner 
both prove to be weak in the same suit, cases 
where the cards lie exactly wrong instead of 
exactly right. And these cases will overthrow 
really good and conservative calculations. 
But they don't occur constantly, nor even 
frequently. Therefore do I repeat that: 

When the score does not force the bidding, 
frequent losses of more than two-odd are 
proofs of poor bidding. 

Make these following principles the found- 
ation of your team-work: 



122 Master -Auction 

On the bidding rounds, find out whether 
you or your partner has the more profitable 
hand. Whichever it may be, use that 
for the playing hand and the other for the 
assisting hand. Bid your suit against your 
partner's only when it is better, or when it 
is worse and you must make a warning of 
danger and weakness. Instead of always 
trying to grab the bid, learn that it is fre- 
quently more profitable to play against the 
make — even when you don't defeat it. You 
can't play every hand, and you can't score 
on every hand. Forfeit very Httle to save 
the first game. Forfeit two hundred, or 
even a little more, to save rubber — but when 
you have done it, try mighty hard to win that 
rubber. When cards are running hope- 
lessly against you, sit tight and limit your 
losses. You can't accomplish the impossi- 
ble, but you can avoid giving big penalties 
— and the rubber to boot. Never be hyp- 
notized by minor-suit honors. Bid to the 
score. Don't double unless you have the 



Some Points 123 

book in your hand. Don't double and let 
the adversary out. Don't double non-game- 
going bids unless you are absolutely sure of 
defeating them. Don't interfere with your 
partner's double unless you have made a false 
bid, or lack even the one possible trick for 
which he trusts you, or are sure of going 
rubber on your bid. 

When it comes to the play, lead every suit 
from the weak hand to the strong. Lead 
through strength and up to weakness. Play 
for ruffs in your weak hand and discards in 
your strong one. Try to keep the adversary 
from getting ruffs in his weak hand and 
discards in his strong one. Play the thing 
that he doesn't want. If he refrains from 
leading trumps, lead them yourself — especi- 
ally up to weakness. Lead trumps at any 
price against an adverse cross-ruff. Avoid 
establishing a suit for the adversary. Don't 
forget to use the Rule of Eleven. Count a 
careful and unerring thirteen in each of four 
suits, every hand that you . play. Above 



124 Master -Auction 

all, play in silence. Do your talking between 
hands. Don't chatter when the cards are 
in play. It mayn't annoy you, but it will 
certainly annoy someone. 

As bystander, perfect yourself in the 
etiquette of your role. It is stricter, if 
anything, than that for those who are play- 
ing. An offending bystander is a blot on 
the landscape — and such bystanders are 
legion. 

Always remember that though you lead 
the higher of two touching honors, you take 
(or attempt to take) with the lower of them. 
To lead the king announces the queen; 
to take (or attempt to take) with the king 
denies the queen. Never waste a spot; take 
every trick as cheaply as possible. To lead 
the jack announces the ten; to take with the 
jack denies the ten. Generally speaking, the 
play of any card to a round already begun, 
denies the card immediately under it. Cards 
that are equal in one's own hand are far from 
equal in the information they convey. The 



Some Points 



125 



only player who can afford to disregard the 
giving of this information, is the declarant — 
the sole safe false-carder. 

Finesse an honor toward split honors only 
when your next card is a nine or a ten, or 
when you are very long-suited. Being short- 
suited, and holding neither the nine nor the 
ten, finesse a lov/ card toward split honors. 
As here: 



<0 8753 



^ 


Q64 






Y 




A 


Z 


B 



^ K10 9 



^ AJ2 



The lead is in dummy (Y). To finesse 
the queen toward the ace (the usual method) , 
would be to lose the third round, for B would 
cover. Being short-suited, and holding nei- 
ther the nine nor the ten, Z should lead 
dummy's four and finesse his own jack. The 
finesse working, the king is marked with B. 



126 Master -Auction 

Z should now drop the suit — which B will 
certainly never lead voluntarily. Just before 
the eleventh round, Z should arrange to 
have, or get, the lead. On that round {i. e., 
when he has three cards in his hand), he 
should throw the lead to B with another 
suit, — shaving ascertained what taker B holds, 
and having himself retained a card to 
that end. B will now be holding the king- 
ten of hearts, Z the ace-deuce, and Y the 
queen-six. Whatever B leads, Z will take 
both rounds — shaving lost not a single round 
of the suit. 

Never forget, nor neglect, the One-Card 
Echo at no-trumps. I'll repeat its formula: 

When your partner leads against no- 
trumps, and dummy plays a card that you 
can not cover, play your next-to-highest. 
Not your lowest — as would be natural, on a 
trick already lost — but your next-to-highest; 
this, to enable him to read the suit, and also 
to unblock. Take this example: 



Sonne Points 




^ 8652 






♦ Q10 8 






0Q3 






4 QJ75 




^ KQ3 


Y 


^10 7 4 


4b 732 

A 10 8 5 


A ■ B 


4» A J5 

J942 


4^ K10 2 


Z 


^ 643 




9 AJ9 






4^ K964 






K76 






4 A98 





127 



Z is playing no-trumps. A leads the five 
of diamonds. Dummy plays queen — a card 
which B can not cover; B's play is therefore 
the nine — his next- to-highest. 

A says to himself: "My partner holds a 
diamond that is higher than the nine. It 
can't be the ten, for I hold that myself. It 
can't be the king, else he would kill the queen. 
It must be the jack, while the king lies with 
Z. ril never lead up to it; if my partner puts 
his jack through that king, it is deader than 
a door-nail." 



128 Master -Auction 

Z being in dummy, finesses his queen of 
spades toward his ace — feeHng sure that he 
still has re-entry in the adversary's suit. A 
wins the trick, and his immediate thought is 
how to put B in. Spades are obviously not 
the way ; diamonds are not ; hearts can hardly 
be — with the king and queen in A's own hand. 
If B has re-entry, it must be clubs. So A 
leads his own worst suit. B takes, leads the 
jack of diamonds, and five neat tricks are 
scored by A-B on the first six rounds. 

Note that if B had not held re-entry in 
clubs, A would be no worse off eventually 
than if he had led his diamonds up to Z's 
king. The play of the club can lose him 
nothing and may gain him much. 

But just imagine his chagrin, after plan- 
ning and working so cleverly should B (on 
winning the club) return the suit — thinking 
that A had abandoned diamonds in despair. 
There would be absolutely no excuse for such 
a play on the part of B (dummy being so 
obviously weak in diamonds) yet that is the 



Some Points 



129 



way that two-thirds of the Auction players' 
play. 

Here is another example of the One-Card 
Echo: 





^ K • 






(^ Q753 






<0> 10 982 






♦ 9863 




9 A9873 


Y 


^ J 10 6 


4» 82 


A B 


4^ A 10 9 


653 


KQ4 


4^ 752 


Z 


^ K J 10 4 




9 Q542 


. 




* K J 6 4 






AJ7 






* AQ 





Z is playing no-trumps (you know, it is 
only at no-trumps that this One-Card Echo 
is used). A leads his fourth-best heart; 
dummy plays king. Should B play the six 
instead of the ten, he would block the suit and 
establish Z's queen. Coming in on diamonds 
or spades, or clubs, he would lead first his 
jack of hearts and follow it with his ten ; Z 



130 Master -Auction 

would refuse to cover, and his queen would be 
safe. Should A overtake B's ten with his 
own ace — in order to lead another round — he 
would establish the queen for Z. 

But by playing the ten to the first trick B 
(on coming in) leads the jack. Z dares not 
cover. B then leads the six, and whether 
Z covers or not, every other round of the suit 
A-B. Z will be lucky if he scores on the 
hand. 

Assuredly, the One-Card Echo is a "point" 
that no good player can afford to ignore ! 



CHAPTER IV 



SOME HANDS 



This chapter won't do you one particle of 
good if you are going to regard its diagrams 
merely as little drawings in black-and-white. 
To derive any profit from them you must 
positively play the hands. Get, preferably, 
a pack of small cards such as children use. 
Get a proper table and a comfortable chair. 
Then lay out these hands and play them over 
and over again. 

It was in that way that I learned two- 
thirds of all that I know about Bridge. The 
other third was learned by playing. 

But in the early days of Bridge, I bought 

what was then the best book on the market, 

and I read it from cover to cover. Then I 

worked at the hands in the diagrams. Even- 

131 



132 Master -Auction 

ing after evening, hour after hour, I devoted 
to them. Before long, I found myself being 
promoted to better tables at card-parties, 
(I had started at the lowest). Soon I was 
being called to the various tables whenever 
I was dummy, in order to advise as to make 
and play. Next, I was turning up my nose 
at card-parties (the afternoon kind). Then 
I was teaching, next writing, and by the time 
Auction came in, I was able to assist in its 
making. And I have never seen a lesson 

GIVEN EXCEPT THOSE THAT I HAVE GIVEN 
MYSELF. 

Pardon this personal digression. Its 
excuse is my interest in you, my reader, and 
the interest I hope to make you take in 
diagrams. 

Z, as you know, is always the dealer — 
though not necessarily the Player. 

The following remarkable hand was sent 
me from Ohio. No score was given; in 
such cases I always take a clean score for 
granted : 



Some Hands 13: 




^ A975 

* 

Q9862 

4^ K J 10 9 




♦ AQ972 
A J 10 5 4 3 

44 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ J 10 86432 
* — 

^ AQ832 


( 


Jfr K J 10 8 6 

Ok 

4b 765 


543 



At no score, under no circumstances, by 
force of no stress, would I have Z bid. 

On a clean score it is perfectly apparent 
that he has no bid. He has not one trick out- 
side his trumps — so that settles the matter. 
He has seven possible losers. And as an 
invitation to no-trumps his hand would 
be a cruel hoax. 

The only time that I can conceive of anyone 
advising a bid from Z, would be when he and 
his partner were eighteen or more on the 
rubber-game. Even then it would be sense- 



134 Master -Auction 

less. No one would let Z get away with a 
bid of ''One club," or even of ''Two clubs." 
He couldn't possibly bid his hand to the 
point of playing it. Far better to throw it 
hoping that everyone else will do the same, 
and that on the next deal he will get a hand 
that no one can beat. However, should there 
be bidding Z would still have a second-round 
chance. He passes, hoping that everyone 
else will pass. Should he bid, someone else 
will be sure to. 

A bids "A diamond." He has two suits 
that might help no-trumps wonderfully. 
He has an ace outside his trumps. On 
account of his two singletons, however, A 
would not let his partner play no-trumps 
even should he bid it. It would be joyful 
news, for it would sound like general strength. 
A would then go back to his diamonds, 
hoping for game-in-the-hand. 

Y should pass, and B should over-call 
with "A heart" or "A spade" — prefer- 
ably the former, because his hand is es- 



Some Hands 135 

sentially a ruffing hand and his hearts are 
longer. 

Z should now say **Two clubs." 
I should have A pass. His own suit has 
been shown to be against him, he likes the 
adverse bid, and with so many trumps in his 
own hand he should have small hope of forc- 
ing it to three. Y can certainly never raise 
clubs and B would hardly play against them. 
Although his partner has not raised his hearts,, 
he might bid them once more himself — or 
he might go to spades. I should advise the 
former course; B's hearts would be wretched 
as side-suit and good as trumps. His spades 
make a decent side-suit. 

It is impossible to give a rule as to how 
high this bidding should run, who should 
double, and when. B's hearts make the 
most profitable bid at the table. Against 
the lead of the ten of clubs he can go game; 
against the lead of the king of diamonds, he 
can take but three-odd. The reason is 
obvious. If Z leads a club, dummy will 



136 Master -Auction 

cover, Y will ruff, and Z will over-ruff. He 
can do the same later with the ace of clubs. 
It is like leading trumps twice through Y. 
But if Z opens with the king of diamonds, 
he will never lead a club after he has seen 
dummy. And B can not lead one. There- 
fore, the only club that he can lead through 
Y will be the ace, and he can force but once 
instead of twice. 

Let us follow the play. The underscored 
card in the following diagram is the one that 
wins the trick. The next lead comes from 
that hand, and you can follow the line and 
see what each player plays to the trick. 
Note that after winning the king of diamonds 
with dummy's ace (holding a singleton 
diamond himself, B dispenses with the Bath 
Coup) B does not rush to his spade finesse. 
He can get that from any hand at the table, 
while it is only in his own hand that he can 
establish the ten of diamonds. He leads 
the jack, expecting the queen to lie with 
Z, planning to discard a spade and give Z the 



Some Hands 



137 



trick. But when Y plays queen, B trumps, 
and is over-trumped. It would now be a 
different story if Z had another trump to 
draw dummy's queen. 





Z 


A 


Y 


B 


1st round 


kO 


aO 


2O 


70 


2d ' " 


k9 


JO 


qO 


29 


3d " 


5* 


4* 


9* 


Q* 


4th " 


6* 


Q^ 


10 ♦ 


2* 


5th " 


3* 


w<> 


60 


34 


6th " 




A^t 







If Y trumps the ace of clubs, B trumps 
over. If Y trumps with the ace, B discards 
a spade. He is embarrassed by having to lead 
trumps up to Y's ace-nine; nevertheless, he 
takes three-odd. With an opening club- 
lead he would go game-in-the-hand. No 
other hand can do as well, except by defeating 
a bid. 

The hand which follows was sent me by 
some friends in Salem — wonderful players. 



138 



Master -Auction 



I think it is the most astonishing, as well as 
the most tantalizing, hand that I have ever 
worked over: 



( 


^ K Q J 10 8 7 

4^ 862 
<> Q 10 7 5 


4» K 10 9 7 

<> 963 

4^ AK843 


Y 

A B 

Z 


<S? A96542 

4^ A4 

<>4 

4b J 10 9 5 


( 


§t Q J53 
<> AK J82 
4b Q762 





This hand was originally played in dupli- 
cate boards, and it certainly caused comment. 

Z has no opening bid. He holds no ace nor 
king outside his trumps. 

I don't see how A can shirk his plain 
responsibility of bidding his spades; yet 
many pupils to whom I have given the hand 
have passed it. However, A should cer- 



Some Hands 139 

tainly bid *'One spade." Whether he does 
or not, Y will bid his hearts — *'one," if A 
has passed, ''two," if A has bid. B has 
raisers for spades, but likes the hearts — nor 
can he hope to force them very far. 

Z will bid his diamonds on the second 
round. Then Y, getting no raise in his own 
suit, will switch to his partner's. Although 
his partner's bid is a second-rounder, Y has 
wonderful help. Four trumps, to two honors, 
a blank in the adverse suit, and a marvel- 
ous heart-suit that lacks nothing but its 
ace. 

For spades, B holds three raises. Four 
trumps to two honors would surely make his 
"trick," his ace of clubs is one raiser, his 
ace of hearts another, and his diamond single- 
ton a third. When the hand goes into 
diamonds against him, he will surely raise the 
spades. 

Incredible as it may seem, there isn't a 
hand at the table that can go game — be the 
suit what it may. A-B can bid three safe 



1 40 Master « Auction 

spades and Z-Y can bid four safe diamonds, 
and there it ends. 

It is at diamonds that the hand causes the 
most astonishment. With nine trumps 
including the highest five, with a blank 
heart-suit in one hand and a blank spade- 
suit in the other, with the heart-hand holding 
all the honors except the ace, and with a 
protected queen- jack of clubs lying in the 
strong trump-hand, it would seem impossible 
to lose more than the ace and king of clubs. 
But whether the hand is played at a cross- 
ruff or otherwise, Z simply can not take more 
than four-odd — provided the adversaries 
make no mistakes. 

A will lead the king of spades, and dummy 
will surely trump. The next lead must 
certainly be the king of hearts; Z wants to 
establish dummy's hearts while there is still 
re-entry. It would be too obliging of B to 
play his ace; he'd far better "take it home 
to bed." Should he play it, Z would trump 
it. He would then exhaust trumps — land- 



Some H8Lnds 



141 



ing in dummy last. Then he would lead 
the three master hearts, throwing all his 
remaining spades — for that queen of spades, 
once led through, would look very silly. The 
nine of hearts will block dummy's triumphal 
progress. After three heart-rounds he will 
have to lead a club to his own hand. And 
even so, he is forced to lose three club-rounds. 
There is no possible way, as I believe, to make 
that hand take more than four-odd tricks. 
A hand that seems to me a most beautiful 
example of good bidding is the following: 



<v? KJ5 

♦ A Q 10 6 
A J7 

♦ A86 




^ A863 
♦ K J7 
K Q 10 
4^ K 52 



142 Master -Auction 

Z bids ''A no-trump," and a sorry time 
he'd have with it — but it is an honest bid. 
Nor would he be left with it, for Y would 
over-call with "Two hearts." But he 
doesn't have to, for A bids "Two no-trumps" ; 
and a sorry time he'd have with it, but it is an 
honest bid. Nor will he be left with it, for B 
will bid "Three spades," which means game. 
He can make four-odd. Note that had A 
doubled the no-trumps, B would have bid 
' ' Two spades ' ' and one-doublers would have 
pointed with pride at the success of the 
scheme. It is here accomplished just as 

WELL, AND FAR MORE HONESTLY. 

Were Z left with his no-trumps, what 
would you have A lead? I think he should 
lead the ace of clubs from that dread com- 
bination ace-queen-ten (three honors). 
Should he do this, B (holding any honor) 
would throw his highest card on the ace — 
unless, indeed, he had five clubs. In that 
case, were his five clubs headed with an 
honor he v/ould play his next-to-highest and 



Some Hands 143 

then down — keeping a card at each end until 
it developed whether he or his partner had 
the longer suit; if his five clubs were headed 
with a plain card, he would play his next-to- 
bottom and then up. 

But the moment that B plays a discourage- 
ment club (he plays the trey with the deuce 
on the board, so it must be his very bottom- 
est) A drops clubs. Neither of his red suits 
can be touched. He therefore leads his 
lowest spade. B holds the fourchette over 
the jack on the board. Z will take that 
first round of spades, and then the suit is 
established against him. But as I said 
before, he wouldn't be left with his no-trumps. 
The hand is an exceptionally pretty example 
of sane bidding. 

The following hand is a wonder. On 
its original appearance I was Z, and my 
partner was a man who plays a mighty 
good game. Nevertheless, I think he 
made a grave error in judgment on this 
occasion : 



144 



Master -Auction 





9 1098 72 
4i K10 9 8 

J98 
♦ lO 




^ AQ643 

♦ j 

A10 7 
4^ KJ73 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ 

4^ Q7652 
6532 
4 9865 




^ KJ5 
4ii A43 
KQ4 
4 AQ42 





It was a clean score and I opened with 
''One no-trump." Everyone who knows me 
at all knows that I bid opening no-trumpers 
on air and hope. I have been accused of 
bidding them on * ' Two threes and a guarded 
four." 

A made the unassailable bid of "Two 
hearts," and Y made the mistake of his life. 
Holding a heart-stopper and an additional 
trick, he raised me to ''Two no-trumps." 

Just examine Y's hand. See how long it 
must be before his ten of hearts will stop the 



Some Hands 145 

adversary's suit (remember, Y knew nothing 
of my hearts). Look at his singleton spade, 
and consider what an asset it would be if 
hearts were played. Look at his poor dia- 
monds, and his none-too-good clubs! Con- 
sider that my no-trumper might have been a 
mere opener — that if I didn't stop hearts 
we might be badly off with a two-no -trump 
bid, and that if I did stop hearts we might 
make the adverse two-heart bid look rather 
silly. 

You are not forced to raise your partner's 
bid just because you can. True, you must so 
raise it, provided there is nothing better that 
you can do. You mustn't pass when you 
have a raise and no chance at anything 
better. But with a choice of two profitable 
courses, you should always choose the one 
that promises to be the more profitable. 

We played two no-trumps, and I just made 
them. A refused to lead from either of his 
ten-aces and made the freak (and very wise) 
lead of the jack of clubs. I was forced to 



1 46 Master -Auction 

take the trick in my own hand, as I had to 
save dummy's king for re-entry. I led the 
king of hearts (from the beginning, I had to 
sacrifice my own high hearts in order to 
estabhsh dummy's long ones). A took the 
trick, which I think was bad judgment, for it 
forced him to lead. He led the seven of 
diamonds. I took in dummy, but overtook 
with my own queen; I might need dummy's 
jack for re-entry. I led the jack of hearts, 
and A gave it to me. I led the five, and took 
with dummy's eight. Then the ten, which 
A took, throwing me in again by leading his 
last heart. That placed the lead in dummy, 
and I had my choice between a club, a dia- 
mond, or a spade. I chose the club — lead- 
ing the ten. B took, and led a spade through 
me. Whether I finessed or not, it was all 
one. I put up my ace, led a club to dummy, 
made the two club-rounds, and got away 
with my two-odd. Played as the adversar- 
ies had chosen to play it, there was no more 
in the hand. 



Some Hands 147 

We made twenty on that hand, and aces 
were easy. Now consider for a moment 
what would have happened had Y decided to 
let A play two hearts. It would have been a 
wise decision, for I had a general hand and Y 
had five trumps, a side singleton, and a well- 
guarded side-king. Certainly A had small 
chance of game-in-the-hand under those 
circumstances. 

Remember, I would not have Y double. 
Even though in this hand it would have 
enormously increased our winning, it would 
have been bad judgment. Y knew nothing 
of my hand; two hearts wasn't game, and two 
hearts doubled might have been. Y should 
merely have passed in the hope of defeating. 
He should have led his singleton spade. 

With four spades on the board, four in my 
own hand, and a ten-spot lead, I should 
have put up the ace and returned a small one 
which Y would have trumped. He would 
have led a club, my ace would have taken, 
and I should have led another spade for him 



148 Master-Auction 

to trump. With so many clubs on the board 
and A's jack played on my ace, Y would next 
have led a diamond, I should have played 
queen, and A ace. He would then have led 
the ace of trumps, followed by a small one — 
which I should have won. My next lead 
would have been my last spade, my partner 
trumping it. It is obvious that we should 
still have won two diamond rounds and the 
king of trumps — making a total of nine 
tricks. Our book being five, our score should 
have been 200, plus sixteen honors. Yet 
when we scored our twenty, my partner 
smiled in pleasure. ''Fine," he said. "I 
thought my hearts would do the trick!" 

Do the trick!!! 

My next hand holds a lesson for the no- 
trump player ; it teaches him to establish his 
long suit while he still holds a stopper in the 
adversaries' suit — letting his own more ob- 
vious and safe suits wait over until later. 
Also, with a choice of two suits to establish, 
he should choose that which can he cleared 



Some Hands 



149 



before the enemy s suit is cleared. A diagram 
will make this plainer : 





^ 9765432 




4k K2 








K4 








♦ 87 






^ AKQJ 


Y 




^8 


4k A J74 


A 


R 


4k Q 10 9 8 6 


10 9 8 


A 


JD 


Q J6532 


4 AQ 


z 




♦ 10 




^ 10 








4k 53 








A7 








♦ K J965^ 


t32 



Z opens with "One spade." He can score 
three spades — the exact number warranted 
by the rules of bid and raise. 

A bids "One no-trump," disregarding his 
64 heart honors because of the shortness of 
their suit. Y has a bare raise for Z in his two 
side-kings. Holding two singletons, a long 
weak suit, and a no-trump partner, B will 
say "Three diamonds," especially as the 
score stands at 27-all on the rubber-game. 



150 Master -Auction 

B can make four-odd diamonds, but Z will 
cap his bid with "Three spades." 

At the score, A should certainly raise the 
diamonds. But I find, in giving the hand to 
my pupils, that there is a diversity of opin- 
ion on this head. Some double the spades, 
some pass in the hope of defeating them (a 
poor choice at the score), and others bid 
''Three no-trumps." And it is the hand 
played at no-trumps that I want to discuss. 

A can make four no-trumps if he plays 
correctly. At 27-all, four no-trumps are no 
better than four diamonds except that they 
will outrank four spades. Y's first lead is 
his highest spade, to his partner's bid. A 
wins the trick — and it is at this point that 
the weak players fall. 

The weakest of them play the ready-made 
hearts first — thereby establishing three hearts 
in Y's hand. And as Y has re-entry in both 
diamonds and clubs, the fat is immediately 
in the fire. 

Better players (but still not the best), 



Some Hands 151 

after taking the first round start to establish 
the diamonds, because B holds six diamonds 
and only five clubs. This reasoning is good 
as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. 
It will take two rounds to establish the dia- 
monds, and after each round the adversary will 
certainly lead spades. As A has now but one 
spade stopper left, he must choose to establish 
that suit which necessitates hut one round of 
forfeiture — in other words, clubs. // is too 
late to finesse with an established suit against 
you. Likewise, it is too late to throw the lead. 
I am now about to show you two striking 
examples of the thing which I think is pro- 
bably the blackest of all my Auction betes 
noires — the establishment of a long, or fairly 
long suit for the adversary. It is astounding 
how common is this fault — as common as it 
is maddening. Before showing you the hands, 
let me beseech you always to keep yoitr eyes 
on dummy. As carefully as you watch the 
score, and watch your adversary for errors, 
and watch yourself lest you make them, you 



152 



Master -Auction 



must watch dummy for what he tells you. 
From the moment that he goes down on the 
board, take advantage of his information. 
Even before following your correct first-lead 
with its normal second-lead, look and see if 
dummy bids you do otherwise. 





^542 
4k Q J943 
A84 
4^ J6 




^ J6 
^ AK52 
<> K J3 
4^ 5432 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ 10 7 3 

♦ 10 8 7 
<> Q10 5 

♦ K Q 8 7 




^ A K Q 9 8 

4k6 

9762 

4^ A10 9 





Z has won the declaration at "One heart."' 
A makes the correct first lead of the king of 
clubs. B plays the seven, and Z the six. It 
becomes immediately probable that unless 
Z is false-carding, he has no more clubs; in 
which case B must hold two more. Had B 



Some Hands 153 

held but two in the first place, he would have 
played ''down and out" on a king-lead from 
his partner — in other words, he would have 
played the seven, or eight, or ten, following 
with a lower card on the second round. But 
when B plays the seven and Z plays the six, 
it is evident that B can have no card lower 
than his seven — as all the lower cards show in 
A's own hand and on the board. B must 
therefore hold a singleton, or three clubs — 
unless, indeed, Z is false-carding. 

But even if B holds a singleton and can 
trump a second round, it would be an expen- 
sive play — for the reason that it would estab- 
lish three good clubs for Z-Y; Y holding 
sure re-entry, his clubs can't be blocked. 

If, however, A is determined to think that 
his partner holds a singleton club and will 
trump a second round, and if he wants to take 
the risk of his conviction being wrong, he will 
lead the suit again; but he must lead low. 
Under no circumstances can he afford to part 
with the control of so long an adverse suit. 



154 Master -Auction 

In the case of his partner holding other clubs 
(and the chances are even) it will prove an ex- 
pensive choice, for the second club-round will 
give Y a cheap trick and Z a valuable discard. 

The thing need not even be reasoned out 
in so complicated a manner. The moment a 
player (sitting in A's place and having made 
a bhnd-lead of the king of clubs) sees dummy 
go down with as good clubs as Y here holds, 
he should drop clubs, hold up the command- 
ing card, and endeavor to take out dummy's 
re-entry before the long clubs are established. 
In other words, A's infallible second lead 
should be the king of diamonds, to draw 
dummy's ace. Not a low diamond, for Z 
might hold the queen or the ten : A wants that 
ace to fall: when you want high cards to fall, 
lead high cards. From that impossible com- 
bination of a barely-guarded minor ten-ace 
must A make his second lead. 

The original A did not do this. Knowing 
his leads, he led triumphantly, the king of 
clubs and followed it with the ace — never 



Sonne Hands 



155 



caring what dummy had, barely glancing to 
see. Z trumped the second club, drew 
trumps, entered dummy with the ace of dia- 
monds, threw all his losing diamonds on dum- 
my's clubs, and waltzed off with an easy five- 
odd — a gift from A's second lead. Try the 
hand out with the correct second-lead that I 
recommend, and see the difference in the result. 
Here is another hand that will put a point on 
this subject while we are discussing it. Though 
not quite so obvious and theatrical as the first, 
it still is plain enough to speak for itself: 





^ 875 
4b A 9 32 
Q972 
4b J6 




V Q43 
4b K J 
AK83 
4b Q932 


Y 

A B 

Z 

^ AK2 
4b 54 

<> 10 6 

4 A K 10 8 7 


^ J 10 9 6 
* Q 10 8 7 6 
J54 
4b5 

4 



156 Master -Auction 

Z is playing spades. A leads correctly — 
the king of diamonds. B plays the four, the 
trey lying in A's own hand and the deuce 
on the board. There's evidently nothing 
doing in the way of an echo, so A must drop 
diamonds and lead the king of clubs, to take 
out dummy's re-entry. A shocking lead, 
isn't it? — yet a brilliant. In the original 
hand, A was a really excellent player — yet she 
followed the king of diamonds with the ace. 
So, too, have many of my pupils who have 
since played the hand. Even following 
immediately upon that club-lesson just given, 
they have failed to recognize the situations 
as identical. 

Now, under these circumstances, you will 
perhaps wonder why I so highly commend a 
play discussed on page 84, where the situation 
was this: 



Some Hands 



157 



^ AQ9543 
4k 10 4 
<> 542 
4 10 3 



^ K10 2 




Y 




^ J8 


♦ Q87 


A 




B 


4» 62 


AJ73 




10 9 


4 876 




Z 




4^ KQjg642 



^ 876 

4^ AK J953 

KQ86 

♦ a 

Z has doubled a perfectly terrible bid of 
'Tour spades" made by B, with one raise 
from A. Z leads first his king of clubs, then 
(with the guarded queen in plain sight) leads 
the king, followed by a small one. You may 
think the case is the same as that against 
which I have just been warning you — but it 
isn't. 

In the first place, Z runs no risk of estab- 
lishing a suit for A. There is but the lone 
queen of clubs that might take. 

In the second place, Y has played a ten on 



158 



Master -Auction 



Z's first lead. That looks very much Hke a 
singleton, or an echo. And when the echo 
is established on the second round, Z leads a 
third club, letting his partner trump and 
be over- trumped, in order to kill an established 
card in dummy. B could later get into dum- 
my with the ace of diamonds, and could dis- 
card a loser on the established queen of clubs. 
The next hand that I will show you will 
illustrate the mistake of leading a second 
round from ace-king- jack — a point I have 
already touched: 





^ A87 








4^ 9832 








J32 








4^ 843 






^KJ954 


Y 




^ Q63 


4^ 10 6 
<> 10 4 


A 


B 


4^ K J754 
75 


4 AKJ6 


Z 




♦ 10 9 2 




9 10 2 








♦ AQ 








AKQ98 


6 




4b Q75 







Some Hands 159 

The score is 18-7 on the rubber game, in 
favor of A-B. 

Z bids "A no-trump"; A, "Two hearts," 
and Y and B pass (though in B's place, and 
at the score, I should say "Three hearts." 
However, he didn't). Z, "Three diamonds" 
(to save rubber) ; B, " Three hearts " ; Z, " Four 
diamonds " ; closed. 

A led the king of spades from two honors 
that touched. Then he made the terrible 
mistake of leading the ace, from two honors 
that didn't touch. The play gave Z his 
contract, and the rubber. Had A made his 
second lead from any other suit whatever, 
and waited for the second round of spades to 
come from any hand but his own, he would 
have caught Z's queen under his own four- 
chette, and have defeated the bid — a differ- 
ence of 378 points, plus another chance at an 
almost-won rubber. 

Often have I reiterated the advice, "Don't 
play no-trumps when you can play hearts 
or spades." Even when you seem to have 



i6o 



Master -Auction 



a perfectly good no-trump assist, I would 
have you over-call your partner's no-trumps 
with hearts or spades from strength or weak- 
ness {i. e., five cards to an honor, or six to 
anything). Here is a hand to emphasize the 
advice: 

9? J6 

ijt Q J 10 9 

10 

4^ KQJ862 



^ 10 9 8 73 
4» K3 
A875 
4^ 73 




O A2 

«fi 8654 

Q J92 

^ A54 



^ KQ54 
d^ A72 
K643 
4^ 10 9 

The score is ten-all on the rubber-game. 
It is advisable to capture the bid by hook or 
by crook, so Z promptly (and correctly) de- 
clares ' ' One no-trump. ' ' A can do nothing but 
pass; and Y, considering that game can be 
scored with two-odd in no-trumps where it 



Some Hands i6i 

would take three-odd in spades, passes — as 
must B. 

Against no-trumps, A makes the proper 
lead of the ten of hearts. Dummy showing 
that it cannot be from king- jack-ten, B reads 
it correctly as the top of a long weak 
sequence. He therefore decides not to return 
so hopeless a suit — one that would be so long 
in becoming established — and leads the queen 
of diamonds to dummy's weakness. A-B 
take four straight diamond tricks, and they 
already have one heart-round. After the 
diamonds, A leads another heart. Z makes 
two heart-rounds but doesn't dare make the 
third, as that would clear the suit against him. 
He therefore leads a spade. B holds up the 
ace till the second round — which he wins, 
knowing that Z has no more spades to lead. 
Z can not make the odd! At spades, Y could 
make three-odd, game, and rubber. 

The following hand was played at Palm 
Beach. Z was a very strong player (not 
averse to taking a risk), and I was A. My 



1 62 



Master-Auction 



partner was the weakest player at the table — 
but one, nevertheless who spends her life 
playing Auction, and who certainly con- 
stantly criticizes others. It was the first deal 
on the rubber-game, and we were playing for 
a not inconsiderable stake. 





C:? J7 

i J 10 8 7 6 
765 
4 63 2 




^ 10 9 6 

«9 

A J 10 9 8 

♦ K J 10 4 


Y 

A B 

Z 


V 8643 
4k 632 
KQ2 
4b A76 




^ AKQ2 
4ll AKQ4 
43 

^ Q98 





Z opened with "One no-trump," and I 
answered with ''Two diamonds." Z did a 
thing which I have never either dared, nor 
wanted, to do: she bid "Two no-trumps" 
without a diamond-stopper — and this, al- 



Some Hands 163 

though the score (and my bid) did not de- 
mand it. Certainly, I had small chance of 
game at diamonds with Z's hand against me. 
The bidding closed at two no-trumps, and 
I led my ace of diamonds (''holding any 
three honors, your lead is always one of those 
honors — whether against trumps or no- 
trumps"). This lead was made doubly safe 
by the fact that I held sure side re-entry. 
Should my partner hold one, or both, of the 
missing diamond honors, I felt that she would 
of course unblock by throwing her highest 
card on my noticeable lead: (the stock-lead 
at no-trumps is the fourth-best card in your 
longest suit, and a high lead is always a sign 
of great length or great strength. In either 
case it shows an ability to take care of the 
suit, and the partner's business is not to win 
tricks, but to get out of the way. Only 
when holding four or more of my suit, is she 
at liberty to retain her highest. In cases of 
a four-card suit or longer, she uses middle 
play, retaining cards at both ends until it 



1 64 Master -Auction 

becomes apparent which of us should unblock 
for the other). 

Having known all this from the days of my 
Auction-cradle and Auction-primer, I took 
it for granted that my very self-sufficient 
partner knew it too. I led the ace of dia- 
monds, and she played the deuce (both liter- 
ally and figuratively). I, imagining that 
both king and queen must be against me (I 
had felt sure that Z must hold at least one 
of them, from her bid) , was on the point of 
abandoning my suit in despair, but thought 
better of it and led my jack. B took with 
the queen, led the king, and the suit was 
blocked. 

Even then, instead of leading a spade to 
dummy's weakness, she led a heart to near- 
strength — her excuse being that she didn't 
suppose that I could hold an honor in the 
suit of which she, herself, held the ace; this 
convinced her that my side-strength must 
be in hearts or clubs. 

Z went game, and will probably go to her 



Some Hands 



165 



grave convinced that it is safe to bid no- 
trumps without a stopper in the adversary's 
suit. So it might be, if all adversaries were 
as obliging as the B in this hand. B and I, 
however, should have taken nine tricks before 
Z ever got in. 

A very pretty example of the un-wisdom of 
clearing a long suit for the adversaries arose 
in another Palm Beach game — but on this 
occasion, there were no weak players to ruin 
hands. Again, it was the first deal on the 
rubber-game, and I was A: 





^10 9 

♦ A 10 8 6 
74 

♦ Q J 10 8 5 




^ 875 
4^ 7432 
A Q 10 8 
♦ 64 


Y 

A B 

Z 


9 K63 
*QJ9 
9532 
♦ K93 




^ AQ J42 
4^ K5 
KJ6 
♦ A72 





1 66 Master -Auction 

Z won the bid at ''One heart." I led the 
six of spades, which became immediately 
marked as a singleton or a doubleton. No 
one leads "away from an ace," and it couldn't 
be fourth-best from any other honor, for to 
my partner's eyes all other honors were 
accounted for. 

In showing this hand to some dozens of 
men — all representative players — I have 
almost invariably evoked the comment, "I 
don't like a doubleton lead." "No," I have 
replied, "nor do I. What would you have 
me lead from that hand? I had to lead 
something. Would you recommend a lead 
from four diamonds headed by a double major 
ten-ace?" . . . "Certainly not." . . . "What 
then? Fourth-best from a seven, or seven 
from the top of four? Trumps up to strength 
from three to an eight-spot ? " . . . "Of course 
not. There isn't a decent lead in the hand." 
Which is certainly true — and which proves, 
moreover, that it is easier to criticize than 
to advise. It must be obvious to anyone that 



Some Hands 167 

the six of spades is the only possible blind- 
lead in the hand. 

Dummy played the ten, and my partner 
made the terrible mistake of covering — 
thereby doing the very thing that I so 
strenuously decry, establishing a long suit 
on the board when there is a sure re-entry. 

Of course, B knew that Z must hold the 
ace of spades and that his own king was 
doomed to death. He made his play in 
order to ''cover an honor with an honor," 
and to force the lead into Z's hand, and thus 
prevent his own king of hearts from being 
fed through. 

But you ''cover an honor with an honor'* 
only when you don't see the ten on the board, 
or do see it in your own hand. In the former 
case, you hope to make the ten good in your 
partner's hand ; in the latter case, you hope to 
make it good in your own. When it sits on 
the board, perfectly guarded, why in the 
name of common sense should you be oblig- 
ing enough to establish it for dummy? 



1 68 Master -Auction 

Again, while B naturally didn't want his 
king of trumps led through, he couldn't help 
it. Can't Z enter dummy with that safe ace 
of clubs ? 

And yet again, by holding up his king of 
spades until the third round, B would force 
Z into his own hand on that round, when he 
almost certainly had no fourth spade (cer- 
tainly not, if I had held two originally). 
This would block the spades. There would 
be no re-entry in dummy, for the ace of clubs 
would have been used long since. 

Supposing B to play correctly, he will hold 
up the king of spades and give dummy the 
first round. Z can not afford to lead spades 
till trumps are gone, for fear of a ruff (which 
he would certainly get from me). He will 
lead the ten of trumps with a view to finess- 
ing. His only other choice would be to try a 
diamond finesse, which would be both stupid 
and disastrous at this stage of the game. So 
he leads the ten of hearts. B, realizing that 
he can establish neither the ten nor the nine 



Some Hands 169 

for himself or his partner, holds up the king 
of trumps. (Won't this hand be a heart- 
scald to those players who insist that one 
should invariably cover an honor with an 
honor ?) 

The lead being still in dummy and the king 
of trumps marked with B, Z will lead dum- 
my's nine of trumps — which will likewise 
win. He will then get into his own hand 
with the king of clubs (or by overtaking his 
nine of trumps) and pick up the two remain- 
ing adverse trumps. Then those spades 
must once more be finessed through B, and 
the only way to get into dummy is with the ace 
of clubs. This play Z makes. He leads the 
queen of spades, and B ducks. He leads 
another spade, B covers perforce, and Z takes. 
But the spades are blocked, and the ace of 
clubs is gone. B must lead diamonds from 
his own hand, and he loses three tricks; A. 
takes the first diamond, leads a club, Z 
trumps and must lead another diamond. 

There could not possibly be more than four- 



1 70 Master -Auction 

odd in the hand for Z, did B hold up both his 
kings until the third round — steadily refusing 
to cover an honor with an honor, steadily 
refusing to establish a long suit on the board. 
Even though Z, after the second club-lead 
(on which he plays dummy's ace) should 
lead a third round in order to "ruff out the 
suit," it would do him no good — for he 
couldn't get into dummy to make his fourth 
club. He can't finesse hearts, finesse dia- 
monds, establish and make his spades, and 
ruff out clubs, all at one and the same cime. 

The original B covered an honor with an 
honor, both in spades and in trumps. Z 
made an easy grand slam — seven-odd in 
place of four. The two king-plays cost 
exactly 124 points — half a rubber- value ! 

I consider this hand a very subtle test. 
Give it, as a closed hand, to those of your 
acquaintances whom you consider strong 
players. Put in B's place the men you 
specially want to try out, and see how many 
of them will hold up both those kings until 



Some Hands 



171 



the third round ! Yet the two principles that 
guide the play are as simple as they are 
strong: Don't establish a long suit for 

THE ADVERSARY ; and, COVER AN HONOR WITH 
AN HONOR WHEN YOU DON't SEE THE TEN 
ON THE BOARD, OR DO SEE IT IN YOUR OWN 

hand! In all other cases use your wits, 
and don't be a slave to the first half of an 
unfinished rule. 

As a final example, I shall discuss at 
greater length a hand already given in the 
chapter on the one-double. This is it: 





^ 96 
♦ Q763 
Q5 
4^ 76542 




^ Q842 
♦ 42 
J9763 
4b KIO 


Y 

A B 

Z 


^ KJ3 
♦ A J 10 9 6 
AK 
4b A98 




^ A 10 7 5 
♦ K8 
10 8 42 
^ QJ3 





I ^2 Master -Auction 

Z bids "One no-trump." A and Y pass, 
Y's spade-over-call being a shade too light 
and his two queens promising a little no- 
trump support. B, being a legitimate, 
bidder, says ''Two no-trumps." Z passes. 
Although B can easily make four no-trumps, 
A does not know this ; and he does know that 
his hand demands a bid. He says ''Three 
diamonds." Against any lead and any form 
of attack, he should make five-odd. He 
must, however, be careful to keep the lead in 
dummy at the end of the hand. His only 
losses should be the heart-ace and the club- 
king. 

Y has two choices of lead — the trey of 
clubs and the nine of hearts : we'll follow them 
both: the card that wins the trick is under- 
scored : 



Some Hands 



173 





Y 


B 


Z 


A 


1st round 


3* 


c>4> 


K* 


2* 


2d " 


2* 


8* 


Q« 


K* 


3d " 


50 


KO 


2O 


30 


4th " 


qO 


AO 


4<> 


60 


Sth " 


69 


3^ 


5^ 


Q^ 


6th " 


6« 


10* 


8* 


4* 


7th " 


7* 


A* 


79 


29 


Sth " 


Q4' 


5* 


10^:? 


zo 


9th " 


9^ 


J<^ 


A9 


-19 



Then, no matter what Z leads, A takes the 
balance of the tricks. (N.B. on the ninth 
round, A has purposely thrown the lead 
when he had an uneven number of cards in 
his hand.) 

Here again, is the same lead from Y, but a 
different return from Z: 



174 



Master -Auction 





Y 


B 


Z 


A 


1st round 


3* 


9* 


K* 


2* 


2d " 


.5 


EO 


20 


30 


3d " 


qO 


AO 


40 


60 


4th " 


2^ 


84k 


J* 


«♦ 


5th " 


64^ 


10* 


8* 


i* 


6th " 


7* 


A* 


59 


2^ 


7th " 


Q* 


5* 


7^ 


10 


8th " 








qV 



And then, whether Z takes or not, A makes 
five-odd. Or again (same original lead) : 





Y 


B 


Z 


A 


1st round 


3* 


9* 


K* 


2* 


2d " 


6* 


15* 


8* 


4* 


3d " 


50 


AO 


20 


30 


4th " 


qO 


KO 


40 


60 


5th " 


7* 


A* 


5'^ 


29 


6th " 


Q* 


5* 


7^ 


ZO 


7th " 


2* 


8* 


3* 


K* 


8th " 


6<2? 


3^ 


A9 


q9 



Z can not take another trick. 

Then, if Y leads short and Z does not take 



Some Hands 



175 



(fearing that Y has another heart, and that 
the suit will be established for A-B) : 





Y 


B 


Z 


A 


1st round 


99 


l^ 


5^ 


2*^ 


2d " 


50 


AO 


20 


30 


3d " 


qO 


KO 


iO 


60 


4th '■ 


2* 


84k 


34k 


K* 


5th " 


3* 


94k 


K* 


24k 


6th " 


69 


S^ 


A9 


4^ 


7th " 


4* 


K^ 


79 


8^ 


8th " 


54k 


A* 


J4k 


10 4k 


9th " 


6* 


94k 


Q4k 


10 


10th " 


7* 


5* 


10*;? 


Q^ 


11th " 


6* 


A* 


s* 


i4> 


12th " 




J* 







On the sixth round, Z takes with the ace 
of hearts and returns a heart, in order to 
exhaust dummy's heart re-entry, should 
clubs become established. On the tenth 
round, A takes care to get rid of the mas- 
ter-heart, so that Z can't throw him the 
lead. 

Once more, the same short lead from Y, 



176 



Master -Auction 



Z taking and returning the suit — in the hope 
that his ten may eventually be good : 





Y 


B 


Z 


A 


1st round 


99 


J^ 


A^ 


29 


2d " 


6^ 


39 


7^ 


89 


3d " 


50 


AO 


2O 


30 


4th " 


qO 


KO 


40 


60 


5th " 


2* 


8* 


3* 


K* 


6th " 


3« 


g« 


K* 


4* 


7th " 


4* 


EV 


59 


49 


8th " 


5* 


A* 


J* 


10* 


9th " 


6* 


9* 


Q4 


10 


10th " 


7* 


5« 


10 9 


Q9 


11th " 


6« 


10* 


8* 


2* 


12th " 




A* 







I think you'll find this hand almost as good 
a test as the preceding one, for your card- 
shark friends. 



CHAPTER V 

SOME QUESTIONS 

Can you, my readers, answer quickly and 
correctly the following simple questions : 

What happens when a lead is erroneously 
made before the bidding is closed? 

What happens when a player bids out of 
turn? 

When he doubles out of turn? 

When he passes out of turn? 

At the close of a hand, when one player 
is found to be short one card while all the 
rest have the proper number, what do you 
do? 

What, if the short player happens to be 
dummy ? 

What, if one player has one card too few, 
and another player one card too many? 
12 177 



178 Master -Auction 

May a previous bid be asked during the 
declaration ? 

Must it be the immediately previous bid, or 
can any previous bid be demanded? 

After the bidding is closed, may a previous 
bid be asked? ^ 

If not, what is your revenge if an adver- 
sary should do so? 

If before, or during, the declaration, a 
player give any information regarding his 
hand — other than a legitimate declaration 
— what may you, as adversary, do? 

If the declarant concedes a trick, or tricks, 
and it becomes subsequently apparent that 
he could win them, what happens? 

What, if an opponent of the declaration 
does the same thing? 

What, if a trick that has been turned and 
quitted is examined? 

What, if anyone other than dummy, 
inadvertently plays two or more cards to one 
trick? 

If the fourth player play ahead of the second ? 



Some Questions 179 

If an adversary of the declarant lead out of 
turn, what is the penalty? 

What, if the score be asked during the 
progress of the bidding? 

Are you very sure on the subject of dum- 
my's seven rights, and four additional possi- 
ble rights ? 

May partners consult regarding penalties 
to be exacted? And if not, what is the 
correct form of exacting a penalty? 

May a bid once made, be altered, and if so, 
under what circumstances ? 

May a double once made, be altered? 

What of a pass? 

Is there a penalty for the exposure of a 
card, or cards, by the declarant? 

By an adversary ? And if so, what ? 

When may a player be required to play his 
highest, or lowest, card to a trick? 

When may he be required to win a trick, 
or to lose it? 

When should a revoke be claim.ed? 

If, after a hand is in progress, it is dis- 



i8o Master-Auction 

covered that it is being played by the wrong 
partner, what happens? 

To all these questions and many similar 
ones you should have an immediate answer, 
if you are a player with any pretensions 
to knowledge. And yet, it is precisely on 
such heads that information is constantly 
demanded by really good players. It is 
astounding how much ignorance of the Laws, 
and indifference to them, one meets. 

Remember the difference between rules 
and Laws. Rules may be broken, Laws 
never. They form the highest court of 
appeal; they are set and fixed by a special 
committee, form the universal decision for 
mooted questions, and are an immutable 
part of the game. If you don't follow the 
Laws, you don't get fifty a trick for defeating 
the bid, you don't get two-hundred-and-fifty 
for winning the rubber, you don't get a bonus 
for winning a doubled bid. You don't get 
anything that you invariably get, expect, 
and have a right to demand. Who are you, 



Some Questions i8i 

to decide that you will regard certain of the Laws, 
and disregard others? You didn't make the 
game of Auction. How do you dare take 
such liberties with it? 

I know a man who plays a beautiful game, 
plays invariably for money, always wants to 
raise the stakes, yet constantly refuses to 
regard those of the Laws of which he is, and 
permits himself to remain, ignorant. **We 
don't play that way," he always says; and to 
save unpleasantness, his associates humor 
him. But let him try a game amongst 
strangers, and see how he will fare! 

Suppose you were fond of tennis. Suppose 
you were to meet on the courts a man whose 
game you had heard warmly praised. Sup- 
pose he played well — even brilliantly — but 
that whenever he missed a ball he would 
tell you that he "didn't count that." At 
your demur, he might admit that he 
"counted some mistakes, but not others." 
What would you think of his tennis? 

Yet that is precisely what is done by the 



1 82 Master -Auction 

Auction player who disregards the Laws. 
He counts some mistakes, but not others. 
He counts all those which result from errors 
of play, and disregards all which result from 
errors of form ; yet the latter class of error is as 
serious as the former, as much a part of the 
game, as fully covered by law. 

Be a sport. Play the game — not just a 
part of it. Penalize yourself, and you will 
soon cease to feel edgy under penalties. If 
you drop a card on the table, never dream 
of picking it up and restoring it to your hand 
(unless, indeed, you are the declarant and 
have no partner to be advantaged by seeing 
your card) ; lay it by your side subject to call, 
as a matter of course. When your partner 
makes an original lead out of turn, expect to 
have a suit called from your hand. When he 
bids out of turn, realize that your bid is 
barred for that hand. And let your adver- 
saries know that they may expect no more 
maudlin mercy at your hands than you ask 
at theirs. 



Some Questions 183 

I'm not going to tell you the answers to all 
the questions I have just asked — it would be a 
waste of time and space. Some of you might 
know some of them, others might know others ; 
so there is no need for me to go over them all 
— especially as you will find all the answers, 
carefully and concisely worded, in the Laws 
printed at the end of this volume. ' A copy of 
the Laws should be in every house — or every 
trunk — in easy reach of Auction players ; dis- 
cussions arising, they are the sole arbiters. 

Just to show you how surprisingly neces- 
sary is this precaution of always having a 
copy of the Laws handy, I will tell you some- 
thing that happened to me not very long ago. 
It was in one of the card-rooms of the Break- 
ers Hotel at Palm Beach. I was playing 
with three men — one of whom was the chair- 
man of the Card Committee of one of the 
biggest and best-known Clubs in America. 
The two others were players of distinction 
and note. At a table not far from us, another 
game was in progress. 

^ At the time this book is published a revision of the Laws is 
in progress. 



1 84 Master -Auction 

Suddenly, someone at this second table 
said, ' ' Miss Irwin, are you dummy ? " " No, ' ' 
I answered, "I'm playing the hand." So 
they sat and waited until it was obvious that 
our hand was over. Then they asked, 
"What is the penalty for leading before the 
bidding is closed?" 

Just as I opened my mouth to answer, my 
companion, who was the chairman of a Card 
Committee, said, "New deal." "Oh, no!'' 
I cried. "Yes, certainly," he answered. 
So I let the matter drop until the next day, 
when I showed him (and the others) the 
printed Law. 

As a matter of fact, there is almost no 
error that calls for a new deal — and yet a new 
deal is regarded by most players as the 
universal panacea for all evils. In the case 
just quoted, there are three penalties, all 
exacted for the same error — the only case of 
a triple penalty that the Laws afford. First, 
the partner of the offending player is debarred 
from all further bidding during the hand; 



Some Questions 185 

second, if he becomes the eventual leader, he 
is forbidden to lead the suit of the card 
exposed; and third, that card is treated as an 
exposed card, and is subject to the call of the 
declarant. 

You can easily see how confused it would 
all be if no account were taken of this law. 
We'll suppose a player to lead a card before 
the bidding is finished, — say, the ace of 
spades. His partner sees that card, and with 
the best will in the world he can't forget it. 
If he has a tinge of dishonesty in his make-up 
he will bid spades on five or six to a jack. 
If he is morbidly conscientious, he won't 
bid spades even though penalties are not 
being exacted, and he holds six to the king- 
queen. And even if he forfeits his bidding 
and leads the king of spades from king-queen 
(possibly the only lead in his hand), his 
adversaries will immediately suspect him of 
having been unduly influenced. The Law 
settles everything properly and there is no 
scope for dishonesty, no question of self- 



1 86 Master -Auction 

flagellation, no suspicion, no undue advan- 
tage. 

Whether you play well or badly, if you care 
one iota for the game (and otherwise, why 
play?), I beg of you to make yourself the 
constant champion of the Laws. 



CHAPTER VI 



HALF-RULES 



Half-Rules, like partial quotations, can 
be very misleading. Before you follow a 
rule, he sure that you know all of it. Three 
Auction rules, in excess of all others, have I 
heard almost universally mangled by curtail- 
ment. They are these: 

Never finesse against your partner. 

Always lead through strength. 

Cover an honor with an honor. 

Those sentences, cut loose from their 
proper context, can lead a player very far 
astray. Let me teach them to you in their 
proper form. 

1st. Never finesse against your partner's 
original no-trumip lead, unless there is a 

GUARDED HONOR IN DUMMY, IN WHICH CASE 

187 



188 



Master -Auction 



YOU ARE AT LIBERTY TO FINESSE VERY DEEPLY 

IN THE SUIT. Here is an example : 



9 QJ86 




^ A 10 5 3 



Z is playing no-trumps, his only very weak 
suit being hearts. A leads his fourth-best 
heart, and dummy goes down with a thrice- 
guarded king. It would be utterly senseless 
for B to play the ace (provided dummy 
does not put up the king) and return the suit. 
That would be to make Z a present of a trick. 
Such tricks often spell game, they often spell 
rubber, they often make safe otherwise 
impossible contracts. 

If dummy plays low to A's lead, B should 
certainly play the ten — even though the 
Rule of Eleven tells him that B has but one 
heart higher than a six, and it might be a lone 



Half -Rules 189 

queen or lone jack. In case it were, B's 
play of the ten would make it good. But on 
the other hand, dummy's king would then 
never take; and should B play the ace to the 
first round that king would be triumphantly 
established. It is as broad as it is long if Z 
holds the queen or jack; and in case he holds 
neither, and his card that outranks the six 
happens to he the nine, it's a great deal broader 
than it is long. It is perfectly even chance 
whether Z holds the nine, the jack, or the 
queen. Has he one of the honors, B loses 
nothing by his finesse of the ten; while if Z 
holds the nine, the ten is a tremendously 
profitable play for B — it will keep Z from 
winning a single heart round. In other 
words, B can lose nothing, and may gain 
much, by the finesse. He should play the 
ten (which will win the trick) and he should 
carefully refrain from returning the suit. It is 
evident that A's hearts are neither long 
enough, nor strong enough, to cause much 
excitement or to necessitate their immediate 



190 Master -Auction 

establishment. Therefore, let B — having 
won the first trick — lead his ov/n suit, or lead 
up to weakness. When the hearts are led 
by any hand other than B's they are killed 
forZ. 

2d. Lead through strength, but not 
THROUGH A SEQUENCE. There is an object 
in leading through ace-queen — your partner 
may hold the king; there is an object in lead- 
ing through an ace and several small — your 
partner may have the king, or queen, or jack, 

THERE IS POSITIVELY NO OBJECT IN LEADING 
THROUGH ACE-KING, OR ACE-KING-QUEEN, for 

your trick will be taken and the suit still 
established against you. There are two 
purposes in Bridge — to take tricks and to 
command suits (so as to take later tricks). 
When a lead promises the fulfillment of nei- 
ther object, avoid it. When there are holes 
in a suit, you lead through it — your partner 
may fill those holes. But when it is chock- 
a-block, what end would it serve to lead 
through it? 



Half 'Rules 191 

On the other hand, though it is always 
advisable to lead ''up to weakness," it is not 
always possible. When forced to lead up 

TO STRENGTH, CHOOSE ALWAYS SEQUENCE- 
STRENGTH RATHER THAN BROKEN STRENGTH. 

It is better to lead up to ace-king than ace- 
queen (your adversary would love to have 
you lead up to his ace-queen; he'd know just 
how cheaply to win the trick; you'd make 
both his high cards good). But it is better 
to lead through ace-queen; the reason is 
obvious. 
3d. Cover an honor with an honor, 

WHEN YOU don't SEE THE TEN ON THE 
BOARD, OR DO SEE IT IN YOUR OWN HAND. 

The object of covering an honor with an 
honor is to establish the nine or the ten for 
your partner or yourself (the nine, by-the- 
way, is next in importance to the ten in 
indicating whether or not to cover an honor 
with an honor). When it is perfectly appar- 
ent that in covering an honor with an honor, 
you are merely establishing a nine or a ten for 



192 Master -Auction 

the declarant, surely it is senseless to do it. 
Very often, indeed, when your adversary 
leads out an honor, it is in the hope of tempt- 
ing you to cover it and let him kill it. He is 
merely following the rule, **When you want 
high cards to fall, lead high cards." He 
wants high cards to fall, so leads his high 
card to tempt yours. What he wants, 
surely you don't want. When I remember 
how relieved I often am to have my honors 
covered with adverse honors, I know it can 
not invariably be a good thing for my enemy 
so to oblige me. 

Therefore, don't always cover an honor 
with an honor; but equally, don't say that I 
advised you never to do it. Generally, it is 
the right thing to do — but sometimes it isn't. 
That is the point that I am trying to impress. 
An expert knows infallibly when to do it and 
when not to do it. The context of the hand 
(if I may be pardoned so awkward an expres- 
sion) shows him. The situation is made 
plain in a dozen ways. But to the less 



Half -Rules 193 

practiced player I can give no rule better 
than this: 

Cover an honor with an honor if you don't 
see the ten (or the nine) on the board, or do 
see it in your own hand! 



CHAPTER VII 



THE RUFF 



Ruffs may be divided into three classes — 
the weak-hand ruff, the strong-hand ruff, 
and the cross-ruff. 

The weak-hand ruff is the ruff in dummy. 
A ruff in dummy must be taken early in the 
game, and it is the only single-ruff that should. 
In those rare cases where dummy holds five 
or six trumps, even the weak-hand ruff may 
be deferred until the adverse trumps are 
exhausted. But generally speaking, a ruff 
in dummy must be taken early, if at all. 
It is perfectly apparent that if trumps are 
first pulled, dummy's trumps will be ex- 
hausted — along with the adverse trumps — 
and he will never get his ruff. Take this 
hand: 

194 



41i A9S3 



The Ruff 


^ 


432 


* 


10 





A9542 


4k 


K J85 



195 




♦ Q J62 



The declarant is playing hearts and Y is 
dummy. Dummy has raised hearts twice 
on his ace of diamonds (either a trick or a 
raiser), his king of spades (either a trick or a 
raiser) , and his singleton club (a raiser, only) . 
The first lead is the ace of clubs, which 
takes. A will immediately drop clubs, and 
either lead a trump right up to strength (to 
kill one of the weak-hand ruffs) or else lead 
through strength on the board — hoping to 
put his partner in and give him a chance 
to lead trumps to weakness. We'll imagine 



196 Master -Auction 

him to lead diamonds through the ace and 
four small. Let us suppose that his partner 
holds a guarded queen, while the declarant 
holds king- jack. The declarant wins the 
diamond trick in his own hand and leads a 
losing club for dummy to ruff. If he has 
three losing clubs, he tries to let dummy 
ruff all of them. Imagine the profit of mak- 
ing those three small trumps separately, in- 
stead of having them fall on his own big 
ones. 

There is nothing more delightful for the 
declarant than a ruff in the weak hand — he 
should always try to take advantage of it 
early. But conversely, there is nothing more 
maddening for the adversaries than to witness 
such a ruff ; they should always try to kill one 
early — even at the price of leading trumps up 
to strength. The motto for the declarant is, 
"Get a weak-hand ruff v/henever it is pos- 
sible." The motto for the adversaries is, 
"Never give the weak hand a ruff, nor the 
strong hand a discard." I can not possibly 



The Ruff 



197 



furnish a better example of the advantage of 
a weak-hand ruff than by reprinting a hand 
which I have already published. It is one of 
the most startling examples that has ever 
come under my notice: 

4^ J7432 
108 7 6 
♦ Q9 



V 854 




Y 




^ A32 


♦ Q10 8 


A 




B 


4^ K65 


<> J432 




<> K9 5 


4^ AK6 




Z 




4 J 10 7 2 



^ K Q J 10 6 
♦ A9 
AQ 
4^ 8543 



Z was a pre-emptive bidder, and opened 
the hand with "Two hearts" — capturing 
the bid at two, just as he would have cap- 
tured it at one. And if A had played cor- 
rectly, Z could no more have made his two 
hearts than he could have flown. Indeed, 



198 Master -Auction 

unless he had played with great brilliancy, he 
couldn't even have made one. As it was, he 
made three. On the same hand, Z makes 
variously, one, two, or three hearts — accord- 
ing to A's play on the second round, and his 
own. The contract is lost or won, defeated 
or made safe, on that second round. 

A led correctly, the king of spades. Then, 
seeing dummy's queen lying alone, he said, 
''Well, I think we'll just pick up that lady," 
and led another spade — actually preparing 
a weak-hand ruff for Z, actually making 
him a present of it. The moment this second 
lead was made, Z was safe for three-odd ; both 
of those little trumps in dummy being marked 
as winners. 

After taking the second spade, A led 
either a club or a diamond — we'll suppose the 
club, as that is a little less convenient for Z. 
Z took, and led a spade for dummy to trump. 
Then he led a diamond and finessed. The 
finesse working, he led another spade for 
dummy to ruff. His losses on the hand were 



The Ruff 199 

two spade-rounds, a club, and the ace of 
trumps. 

Now, suppose after seeing dummy's pos- 
sible spade-ruff, A had determined to kill it. 
(He needn't have feared a discard of the 
queen of spades, for on what could it have 
been discarded? Dummy has always to 
follow to every suit.) Suppose A had led a 
trump, right up to declared strength. Sup- 
pose B had taken and led another trump — to 
exhaust dummy. This second lead would 
have thrown Z into his own hand — and he 
could never get out of it. His losses would 
be: four spades, a trump, a club, and the 
queen of diamonds. He would have taken 
the book only. 

His chance at one-odd lay in the second 
round. On the first trump-lead (won by 
B's ace) Z should have thrown his ten — in 
place of the six. Then on the second trump- 
lead, he would win with dummy's nine and 
would have a chance to finesse the diamonds ; 
it would give him an extra trick. 



200 



Master -Auction 



As declarant then, remember always to get 
a weak-hand ruff whenever you can — and get 
it early, or dummy's trumps will be gone. 
And as adversary, never give the weak hand 
a ruff that can be avoided. 

It will often pay the declarant to take a 
ruff in dummy while he still holds up the 
commanding card of the suit; as here: 



<y 


432 


* 


10 





A9542 


♦ 


KJ84 



4» A986 



4^ QJ42 



^ AKQJ7 
4k K753 
<> KJ3 
4^ A 



Z is playing hearts, and A's first lead is the 
ace of clubs. As soon as he sees dummy, he 
should lead a heart. But we'll suppose him 



The Ruff 201 

to lead a diamond through strength, hoping 
to put his partner in, and avoiding a spade- 
lead because of the make-up of his spade- 
suit. 

Z takes the diamond in his own hand, and 
sees himself with two losing clubs. / would 
have him hold up the king, trumping a small 
one in dummy. Then back to his own hand 
with a diamond or a spade, and another small 
club for dummy to trump. He should then 
exhaust trumps and make a perfectly easy 
small slam. In many hands this principle of 
holding up the master card of a suit while 
you trump its losing rounds in dummy makes 
all the difference in the world. 

Now, while a ruff in the weak hand should 
almost always be taken early, a ruff in the 
strong hand should almost never be taken 
early — unless forced by the adversaries. 
That's the adversaries' game (forcing the 
strong hand), most certainly not the declar- 
ant's. To force his own strong hand, the 
one with which he means to exhaust trumps. 



202 Master -Auction 

is like bleeding himself in two places at once. 
Time enough for him to take strong-hand 
ruffs when the adverse trumps are exhausted, 
when his own good trumps have accomplished 
their legitimate purpose of killing those of 
the enemy, when he — being longer in trumps 
than anyone else, can still take ruffs with 
his little left-over trumps, everyone else 
being trump-less and exhausted. That is 
the time when a strong-hand ruff comes in 
triumphantly. 

And yet, I am constantly forced to watch 
declarants busy themselves with this petty 
business of exhausting their own strong hands 
with ruffs, the while the adversaries sit 
smiling at the prospect of holding the long- 
trump, after all. They love to see the declar- 
ant chasing about on these side-issues instead 
of pulling out their trumps. It is the very 
thing that they would try to make him do if 
they had the chance — and here is he, doing it 
himself. No wonder they smile! 

Here is a case in point: 



The Ruff 



203 



^ K54 
4» A 10 8 2 
KQ73 
4^ 65 



^ AQJ73 




Y 




9? 


10 9 2 


♦ KQ3 
08 


A 




B 


4^ 




J9764 
J 10 4 


4^ 108 7 3 




Z 




4^ 


K4 



^86 

4» 5 

A9652 
4^ A Q J92 

Z was playing two spades. He should 
have made five-odd — closing two tricks and 
winning five over his book ; the way he played 
it, he lost five and made but two over his book. 

A led the king of clubs. Dummy took, 
and so anxious was Z to take club-ruffs in his 
strong trump-hand, that he began at once 
to do the thing that he should have left to the 
adversaries — forcing his strong hand with 
ruffs. He led a small club and ruffed; led 
a diamond to dummy's queen, then another 
club and ruffed it. Then he led a heart. A, 



204 Master -Auction 

realizing that the king of hearts must take, 
and being perfectly willing to see Z bleed 
himself to exhaustion, played the jack and 
let dummy's king win; then Z led dummy's 
last club, ruffing it with his jack. He had 
now but two trumps left, and could not 
afford to lead them. (He was feeling rather 
cocky, however, as he had not lost a round.) 
He threw the lead by playing his last heart. 
A took with the queen and led the ace, which 
Z was forced to trump with his queen. He 
next led a diamond, which A trumped. A 
led a heart, dummy trumped with the five, 
B with the king, and Z with the ace. And he 
never took another trick. 

Now see what he might have done! On 
the first lead he plays dummy's ace of clubs. 
Then he leads the five of spades and finesses 
his own jack. Back into dummy with a 
diamond, and another trump-lead — on which 
he kills B's king with his own ace. Then 
the queen of trumps. Next, realizing that 
the leading trump alone is against him, he 



The Ruff 205 

determines to make A ruff with it. He leads 
a diamond. To save a slam (as he thinks) 
A trumps the diamond and leads the queen 
of clubs — which Z trumps. He loses two 
rounds; the second diamond and the heart 
ace. He makes five-odd in place of two- 
odd, thanks to the fact that he was not in a 
hurry to take a ruff in his strong hand. 

These, then, are the rules for single ruffs: 
generally speaking, take your weak-hand ruff 
early — otherwise you won't get it at all. But 
never force your own strong hand by early ruffs ;, 
you will merely exhaust yourself and leave: 
the ranks of the adverse trumps unbroken. 
We have next to consider the cross-ruff. 

Very few things are as profitable as cross- 
ruffs; they are bonanzas to the side which 
profits by them, maddening to its adversa- 
ries. To see an opponent make all his trumps 
separately — taking two tricks in place of one 
with each pair of trumps — is a heart-scald. 
To see a pair of opponents do likewise (for 
cross-ruffs are sometimes established against 



206 



Master -Auction 



the make) is as bad. The adversaries of a 
cross-ruff should always come in at the first 
opportunity, at no matter what cost, and lead 
trumps. Let me illustrate: 

^ 987432 
*4 
A83 
4b 964 



9 KQ6 

♦ K Q J 9 7 
965 

♦ Q5 


Y 

A B 
Z 


9 J 10 

ill 10 5 

<> KQ J10 7 2 

i^ A32 




9 A5 

4i A8632 

4bK J10 8 7 





The score is 27-all on the rubber-game. 
Z is playing three spades. B has bid three 
diamonds, in which he could be defeated by- 
one trick — though his honors would cover 
his losses. But Z, with a singleton diamond, 
doesn't know that B's bid is doomed to fail- 
ure, and in the fear of losing rubber he has 
gone to three spades. A raise from his part- 



The Ruff 207 

ner has encouraged him to this — though with 
eight losers in his hand it is rather an opti- 
mistic bid. However, Z hopes to lose less 
than the rubber. 

If he draws trumps he can make but the 
odd. Playing the hand at a cross-ruff — 
trumping clubs in dummy and diamonds in 
his own hand — he can make three-odd; just 
see the difference between making his own 
trumps separately from dummy's, and having 
them fall together! 

The only way to frustrate Z's three-odd, 
is for B to over-ruff the third club-lead — 
using his ace to this end — and to lead trumps. 
How many players would so ''waste" the 
ace of trumps ? Let us follow the hand : 

A leads the king of clubs (if he should 
choose the nine of diamonds, to his partner's 
bid, the result would be the same); Z takes 
the club with his own ace, and leads the 
deuce, dummy trumping. From dummy, 
Z leads the ace of diamonds, and then a small 
one, which he trumps. A club, with a ruff 



208 



Master -Auction 



in dummy. Another diamond, with a ruff 
in his own hand. Then another club, and it 
is on this round that B should over-ruff 
dummy's little spade with his own ace — 
immediately leading another trump. In this 
way, instead of seeing Z sail into victory with 
27 points, 18 honors, and 250 for rubber, he 
defeats him by 50 points less his 18 honors. 
Quite a different result! 

Here is another hand pointing the same 
moral. It is not quite as striking, because 
Z (who played the original hand at hearts) 
should not have won the bid at all: 





^965 

4» A9862 

07 

4^ KJ73 




^ AQ2 

♦ K Q 10 7 3 

5 

4^ Q965 


Y 

A B 
Z 


^4 

♦ J 54 

KQJ10 932 

4 A 10 




^ K J 10 8 7 
* 

A864 
^ 842 


3 



The Ruff 209 

The score on this hand is not given; but 
at any score I cannot imagine A-B letting Z 
get away v/ith a four-heart bid. A can make 
four no-trumps — but he would naturally 
shun it, even after a diamond-bid from his 
partner; A holds a singleton in B's suit, his 
own best suit lacks its ace, and he knows 
nothing whatever of the spades. He would, 
I grant, hesitate to go very high in no-trumps, 
and he can never once raise diamonds. But 
why B, with seven diamonds to eight honors, 
a singleton, an ace-doubleton, and a no-trump 
partner, should not bid five diamonds, I fail 
to see. True, B has six losers and a partner 
who never raises him. But that partner's 
no-trump bid (being made after the heart- 
bid) shows that he has at least a stopper in 
hearts and three other tricks. Were I B, 
I should certainly never let Z play four 
hearts. 

However, our present interest is not in the 
bid, but in the play. If A-B leave Z to an 
uninterrupted cross-ruff (in which he trumps 



210 Master -Auction 

diamonds in dummy and clubs in his own 
hand) he will make his four-odd easily. But 
if A (in spite of his major ten-ace in trumps 
and his position of vantage) leads trumps 
against Z, the latter will be defeated by one 
trick. On the second diamond lead (Z plays 
the ace and then leads a small one) A should 
trump with the queen, lead the ace, and fol- 
low it with the deuce. He thus kills the riiflE 
and the bid. 

Remember then, when the declarant doesnH 
lead trumps, you should lead them against him. 

Remember that one dishonest hand gener- 
ally makes another dishonest hand — some- 
times two or three others. By this, I mean 
that if you have a singleton or a blank suit, 
don't forget that the uneven distribution in 
your hand is almost sure to make a like 
uneven distribution somewhere else; make 
your calculations accordingly. 

Remember that as declarant or as oppo- 
nent, you should dread an adverse cross-ruff 
as you would dread the plague. When one is 



The Ruff 211 

in progress and it is possible for you to get it, 
come in at any cost and lead trumps. 

Remember that as declarant, you should 
almost always take a single ruff early, if it is 
in dummy ; and that you should almost never 
take it early if it is in your own hand. You'll 
have trumps when everyone's else are gone. 

Remember that nothing is more profitable 
for the declarant than a ruff in the weak hand 
and a discard in the strong one. As declar- 
ant, always try to get them; as adversary, 
always try to kill them. Let the declarant 
take as many single ruffs in his own hand as 
he likes — he is exhausting himself and not 
hurting you; his trumps have to make; be 
thankful that he is wasting them on side- 
suit instead of pulling your own trumps. 
Also, as adversary, remember that the dis- 
card of a loser in dummy doesn't generally 
hurt you much or help the declarant much, 
unless, indeed, it prepares a weak-hand ruff. 
In a weak hand there are (generally speaking) 
so many losers that one or two more or less 



212 Master -Auction 

will make small difference. But in the strong 
hand, every loser that the declarant discards 
will immensely strengthen his prospects. 

And never fail to remember that two pairs 
of players working against each other, can 
not possibly be advantaged by the same thing. 
What one of them wants, the other doesn't 
want. Therefore, if the declarant doesn't 
want trumps led, the adversaries do. If he 
tries to get discards of a certain suit, they 
should lead that suit straight to him. If he 
dodges the usual method of pulling trumps 
and tries to make dummy's separately from 
his own, they should never let him do it; 
they should get in at any price and pull his 
trumps. 

What your adversary wants is never 

WHAT YOU WANT. WhEN YOU SEE HIM WORK- 
ING FOR A THING, DON't GIVE IT TO HIM. 

When you see him dodging a thing, fling 
IT AT HIM. Thwart him whenever it is 
POSSIBLE. Otherwise, you are playing 
his game and not your own. 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE REAL DOUBLE 



In my book, The Complete Auction Player^ 
I have instructed so specifically on the sub- 
ject of the double and the redouble that 
there is little additional to be said. A few 
startling hands that I have played, or seen 
played, during the last few months will 
merely serve to emphasize the doubling prin- 
ciples that I have always held and taught; 
they will also, I think, prove interesting. 
But before giving them, I will recapitulate 
briefly the fundamental principles governing 
all honest, safe, and profitable doubles. You 
may not own my former book, or you may 
not have it by you. 

I hope I am a modest woman, and I think 
I am. Nevertheless, putting aside all ques- 
213 



2 1 4 Master -Auction 

tion of personal praise and speaking merely 
in the interest of Auction, I am going to 
make a few startling statements : 

/ have never seen anyone lose as few doubles 
as I lose! In fact, I never lose one at all. 
And that is not to say that I never double, for 
I do ; hut when I do, I always make my double. 
And the reason of that is, that the doubling 
principles I have evolved are safe ones. My 
pupils, who follow them, never lose their 
doubles. Nor will you, if you will adopt 
them. If you like to lose doubles, or are 
willing to do it just for the fun and excitement 
of making them, this chapter won't interest 
you in the least. 

It is very different to say that you never 
lose a double, and to say that you never lose 
a bid. Of course you lose bids. Everyone 
does. Everyone must. You often make 
bids knowing that you must lose them, but 
preferring to save a situation and to take a 
small loss rather than a great one. But you 
never so make doubles. To make a double 



The Real Double 215 

that you knew you were going to lose would 
be to label yourself a fool. 

This cuts the situation down to those bids, 
or those doubles, which are made in the full 
expectation of winning, but which really lose. 
There are such bids; there must be. But 
the player who makes the fewest of them is 
the player with the longest vision, or the 
clearest. And when it comes to such doubles, 
take my word for it there should be very few 
of them. The reason is clear: you cannot 
play a hand without bidding, hut you can 
perfectly well defeat it without doubling. In 
other words, to refrain from bidding is to for- 
feit definitely all chance of doing that which 
you hope to be able to do; to refrain from 
doubling is not. There's all the difference 
in the world, of course. And accordingly, 
there's far more excuse for losing a bid than 
a double. Frequently to lose doubles is to 
prove one of three things: 

1st. That you are not astute enough to 
foresee. 



2 1 6 Master -Auction 

2d. That in doubtful hands you are too 
grasping. Not content with possible fifties^ 
you reach for possible hundreds — and in over- 
reaching, you're content to bestow possible 
bonuses and doubled trick-values on your 
adversaries. It's the case of the dog and the 
bone and the shadow. / keep my mouth shut 
on that hone. 

jd. That in unusual hands you're willing 
to take long chances. 

In answer to the inevitable (and possibly 
fair) charge that I am over-cautious about 
doubles, let me ask you to take two sup- 
posititious cases — that of a man who doubles 
over-frequently, making many hands and 
losing many more — and that of a man who 
doubles only on safety, who never loses, and 
who scores a hundred per cent on all safe 
hands and fifty per cent on all doubtful ones. 
Do you think the former will come out any 
richer in the long run than the latter? I 
know he won't. 

I am perfectly appalled at the frequency 



The Real Double 217 

with which I see doubles fail in the hands 
of practiced players. I should feel disgraced, 
did I so lose them. And as it is my system, 
and not myself, that I am extolling, and as 1 
am anxious to make you its sharer and its 
beneficiary, perhaps you'll let me. 

Here follow my basic principles : 

Never double the only hid you can defeat. 

Never double on one suit alone. 

Double on a general hand, rather than a long 
line of trumps. 

As you count your losers to hid, you must 
count your takers to double. 

Double with the sure book in your hand — 
trusting your partner for the odd; unless, 
indeed, your double would give the adversary a 
safe chance of escape. Also, miles s bidding 
would pay you better than defeating. 

Never double anything unless you can double 
everythhig. (Don't faint; that is merely 
another way of advising you not to let your 
quarry escape by some path that you can't 
cover; merely asking you to cut out the 



2i8 Master -Auction 

uixdesirable doubles and leave the desirable 
ones.) 

As partner of a doubler, don't interfere, 
unless : 

You have a hid that means a sure rubber 
(advisable). 

You have high honors in a major-suit, and a 
safe bid (negligible). 

You have given false information by some 
former bid or double on the hand (necessary). 

You can by no possibility take the one trick 
on which your partner may be counting (pos- 
sible). 

If you follow these precepts, it won't be long 
before you earn the reputation of being a 
sound doubler — of never, or rarely, losing a 
double. Between what you earn with your 
good doubles, what you save by refraining 
from bad ones, and what you take by being 
content with fifty per cent on doubtful ones 
(halving possible profits, totally wiping out 
losses, and discounting disaster to the vanish- 
ing point), I'm willing to wager that on the 



The Real Double 



219 



same cards, you'll be richer at the end of the 
year than by any other possible method. 

If you know any players who like unsafe 
doublers for partners, or who dislike them 
for adversaries, your experience is wider than 
mine. 

And now for a few hands : 

♦ K 10 4 

Q8632 
^ 7652 



^ A 10 9 4 




Y 




^Q 


4i J9863 


A 




B 


^ AQ5 


10 7 




AKJ94 


♦ KQ 




Z 




4 J 10 9 3 



^ KJ87632 
4i 72 
05 
4^ A84 



It was a clean score, and I was B. 

Z opened with "A heart" ; A and Y passed, 
and I said ''Two diamonds." Z, ''Two 
hearts, " A " Three diamonds, ' ' and Y doubled. 



220 Master-Auction 

Where was the sure book in his hand — his 
four sure tricks? 

Where was his ''general hand" on which 
doubhng is safer than on a long line of 
trumps ? 

What about his position, under the bid ? 

Why was he so sure that his heart singleton 
would fall on an ace held by his partner? 
Every bidder doesn't hold the ace of his suit. 

If Y was counting on innumerable heart- 
ruffs, who did he think was going to lead him all 
those hearts ? Certainly not I, and he couldn't 
expect his partner to be leading all the time. 

If he takes more than two ruffs, what 
becomes of his queen of trumps? 

Is that king of clubs a very sure trick? 

Do I make you see it, dear readers, as it 
looks to me? Do I clarify this doubling 
vision for you? To me, it is as plain as the 
nose on my face ; but the necessary thing is to 
impart my certitude to others. 

I feel no hesitancy in saying that at some 
point short of jive-odd most players would 



The Real Double 221 

have doubled those diamonds. And yet, 
five-odd was exactly what I made — what 
anyone could have made. 

Did I redouble? Indeed, not! In the 
first place, I didn't want Z to go back to 
hearts; I liked diamonds at 14 a trick. In the 
second place, I hadn't seen A's hand. 

We'll follow the play, because it was inter- 
esting : 

Z led the ace of spades, which I think was 
his best choice, despite the fact that it helped 
me tremendously. Upon seeing dummy, he 
switched to the seven of clubs. Dummy 
played eight, Y ten, and I queen. I led my 
nine of spades, taking in dummy. Then 
dummy's ten of trumps, which took. I 
followed with the seven, overtaking with my 
own nine. Then the queen of hearts, which 
Z covered and dummy won. Dummy led 
the nine of clubs, which Y passed. Then 
came the six of clubs, which drew Y's king 
and allowed me to kill it. I led the ace and 
king of trumps, and followed them with a 



222 



Master -Auction 



spade. Of course, I made five-odd ; I couldn't 
have helped it from the moment that the double 
placed the trump-strength. Had Y covered 
the nine of clubs, I should have made a small 
slam. 

Here is another double, and a much harder 
hand to play. Also, one which teaches many 
lessons other than good doubling : 





^ Q653 

* — 

986532 
4^ 854 




^ J97 
4^ K542 
A4 
4 10 9 73 


Y 

A B 
Z 


<;;? K10 2 

4^ A J 10 9 8 7 

Oq 

4^ AJ2 




^ A84 
4li Q63 

K J 10 7 
^ KQ6 





The score was 27-all on the rubber-game, 
and it had been a hard fight. 

Z bid "a no-trump," A passed, Y over- 
called with "Two diamonds," and B said 



The Real Double 223 

"Three clubs." Z raised the diamonds to 
three, A said "Four clubs," Y and B passed, 
and Z said "Four diamonds." Anxious to 
save rubber, B bid "Five clubs," with no 
expectation of making them. I think Z had 
a perfect right to double this bid; the score 
showed him that it was forced, he had cer- 
tainly the book in his hand (the king of 
spades and the ace of hearts). The even 
distribution of his own cards killed his fear of 
adverse ruffs. He therefore had a right to 
hope for a diamond trick, either in his own 
hand or his partner's. In spite of all this, 
Y's call-off may have meant an absolutely 
desperate hand (as, in fact, it did) and Z 
lacked the ace of the suit he had been bidding. 
I might not have made that double, but I 
couldn't criticize it. 

B, who could have made five clubs doubled 
and taken a triumphant rubber, allowed him- 
self to be defeated by one trick — all because 
of a bugaboo. The moment he saw dummy 
he became obsessed by the certainty that Z 



224 Master -Auction 

held the ace-queen of hearts, and that his 
own king was under a fourchette. His sole 
idea was to make Z lead hearts to him. Had 
he permitted himself the hope that either 
the ace or the queen of hearts lay in Y's hand, 
and had he played accordingly, he would 
have made his bid. And this brings me to 
the first lesson I want to point: in difficult 
hands, imagine that things are as you want 
them to be — that the adverse cards are 
distributed to your possible advantage, and 
not all of them to your undoing, and plan 
YOUR HAND WITH THAT IDEA. It is astonish- 
ing how often one, at least, of the strong 
adverse cards is where you want it to be; 
it is astonishing what a nerve-soother the 
mental attitude will prove. Long ago, when 
I was a mere Bridge infant, a veteran player 
gave me this bit of advice; it took me a long 
while to believe in it — I am naturally averse 
to trusting anything to luck. But at last I 
have made this precept a part of my Auction 
armor, and I never saw a hand which em- 



The Real Double 225 

phasized its advantage better than the one 
under discussion. 

Remember throughout, that B feels sure 
that Z holds the major ten-ace in hearts. 

Z led the king of spades, proving how 
much better is a lead from two high touch- 
ing honors than an ace-lead. Had he led the 
ace of hearts (a perfectly correct lead) B's 
troubles would have been over. The king of 
spades was also a better lead than the ten of 
diamonds (from three honors) ; though there 
was no indication in Z's own hand of an 
adverse diamond-ruff, the fact remained that 
he lacked the ace of his own suit, and that 
Y's over-call did not necessarily announce it; 
moreover, the over-call must have been made 
on at least five cards, possibly on more. 
Someone might have been short. The king 
of spades must take, or the queen must be 
established. This choice of lead furnishes 
the second lesson in the hand. 

The third is furnished by the good sense 
that told B not to use the Bath Coup: "Hold- 
15 



226 



Master -Auction 



ing ace-knave and another, or others, and 
playing fourth to the trick, hold up both ace 
and knave if the king or queen be on the trick 
and if the next lead will come up to you." 
B held the ace-knave and another of spades, 
the king was on the trick, he played fourth to 
it, and the next lead would come up to him — 
yet he wisely dispensed with the use of the 
Bath Coup, which in this case would be a 
losing play. This shows that the Coup is 
not a necessary play; it is merely an optional 
one, so well known as to have earned a title. 
And now I will give you the play of the 
hand, up to the seventh trick — where it was 
lost. 



1st round 
2d " 
3d " 
4th " 



As Z, I should never have covered that 
first club-lead; I should have taken the 



z 


A 


Y 


B 


k4 


3* 


4* 


A4k 


Q* 


K* 


20 


J4k 


z4> 


2« 


30 


Z* 


6« 


4* 


50 


S4k 



The Real Double 



22' 



chance of making B pull two trumps for one, 
and of letting him do it as long as he wanted 
to. With four clubs on the board, three in 
Z's hand, and B bidding clubs to five, there 
was no hope that Z might establish a ten in 
his partner's hand, and consequently no 
excuse for him to "cover an honor with an 
honor." 

After winning the fourth round, it is ob- 
vious to us that the play of the queen of dia- 
monds through Z's king would be highly 
advantageous. But B didn't know what we 
know; he didn't know the position of the king 
of diamonds. Y was the first to bid dia- 
monds, while Z had micrely raised them. Y 
might have bid on five to the king, and Z 
have raised on four to the jack-ten. In that 
case, to play the queen and let it go through 
would be to lose an unnecessary diamond 
round; add that to the ace and queen of 
hearts, and the hand was beaten. B's mental 
picture of the hand on which Z had bid his 
no-trump was probably something like this : 



228 Master -Auction 

^ AQ8 
4^ Q63 
O J 10 7 5 
4^ KQ6 

The one thing he felt sure of was that Z 
held the ace-queen of hearts. If B led hearts, 
he thought he must lose the first two rounds 
— even though he established the jack. He 
would also lose the queen of spades — and 
that would be one trick too many. Remem- 
ber, he had made his bid in the full expec- 
tation of being defeated, but the moment he 
saw dummy — those spades, that ace of dia- 
monds, those four clubs to the king — ^he knew 
he could make five-odd if he could get the 
hearts led to him. 

After winning the fourth round with the 
eight of clubs, he led the jack of spades — to 
establish two rounds in dummy. Again, Z 
covered — he was evidently a coverer. He 
led the king of diamonds, which dummy won. 
And now came B's mistake. There were the 
two master-spades established in dummy, and 



The Real Double 229 

there in his own hand was the deuce with 
which to get to them. He should have led 
dummy's jack of hearts, right up to that ten- 
ace he feared; it would have established a 
third round; but to him, the play meant 
defeat. He led two rounds of spades to get 
discards — and hurt himself more than he 
hurt anyone else, for he had to discard a 
heart. Then he made his absolutely fatal 
error by leading a diamond and trumping it. 
Landing in his own hand with no means of 
escape, he had eventually to lead hearts from 
king-ten, and to lose both rounds — and the odd 
trick into the bargain. 

Seen open, this hand is obvious. Closed, it 
was a very different matter. I know, for I 
have given it to many classes of advanced 
pupils; they all fear the hearts and the king 
of diamonds. But what really kills the hand 
is the complete conviction that the ace-queen 
of hearts lies over the king. 

All other things being equal, no signs to the 
contrary being forthcoming, always imagine 



230 



Master -Auction 



things to he as you want them, rather than as you 
don't, and play accordingly. 

A hand given on page 133 must here be 
repeated, because of the doubHng lessons it 
carries. Bear in mind that it is not the bid, 
nor the play, that I want to discuss in this 
chapter; merely the double: 





^ A975 






* — 






Q9862 






4^ K J 10 9 




9q 


Y 


^J 10 86432 


♦ A Q 9 7 2 


A B 


♦ — 


A J 10 5 43 




07 


44 


Z 


4^ AQ832 




9k 






* K J 10 8 6 


543 




K 






4 765 





B was an excellent player. He had re- 
peatedly told me that "if there was any- 
thing he hated, it was to have his partner take 
him out of a double when he wanted to stay 



The Real Double 231 

in." This being so, he might have allowed 
his partner a share in such sentiments. 

Z opened with ''Three clubs." A said 
"Three diamonds," Y passed, and B said 
"Three hearts." (You see how little Z's 
preemptive opening bid preempted.) Z bid 
"Four clubs," A doubled, Y passed, and 
it came to B — the man who particularly 
hated to be taken out of a double. He 
looked at his hand, and decided that he 
didn't dare let it go; he bid "Four hearts" — 
thereby interfering tremendously with his 
partner's beautiful plans for a big score. 

Had B opened the bid with hearts, there 
would have been excuse for his not letting 
the double stand — for in that case he would 
have given false information. But by the 
time the bid came to him, it had long since 
ceased to mean "Ace or king at the top." 

Had B not held a single possible trick for 
A, again he might have over-called the 
double; but his ace of spades should certainly 
rank as a trick. 



232 Master -Auction 

Then, B's own uneven hand pointed to 
other uneven hands. Perhaps his partner 
would be as short in hearts or spades as was he, 
himself, in diamonds and clubs; in that case, 
B would be wise not to bid four in either of 
his own suits, but to let the double stand. 

// you hate to have your partner do a thing to 
you, remember that he will probably hate to 
have you do it to him ! 

At what point would you double spades on 
this hand (the bid having been made on 
your right) ? 

^ K 10 6 5 4 
4^ Q43 

O — 

4^ 106532 

It was the decisive h^nd in a tournament 
at Atlantic City. Z, a lucky, a, showy, a 
rather brilliant, but a thoroughly unreliable 
player, opened with *'One spade." A, sitting 
next with the hand just given (and having 
had wretched luck throughout the game) 



The Real Double 233 

made the rather weak bid of **Two hearts." 
Y followed with a spade raise. B said 
"Three hearts," Z "Three spades," and A 
doubled — this being the last chance of a 
score. Whether Z won at spades or defeated 
A-B at hearts, the tournament would be 
lost for A. If he could win at hearts or 
defeat Z at spades, the tournament would be 
won. Fearing the four-heart bid, he doubled 
the spades — to my thinking, with an extreme 
lack of wisdom. 

A's book is four. Where are the four tricks 
in his hand? He should hold the book, 
trusting his partner for the odd. If anyone 
can find four tricks in that hand, I shall be 
very much surprised. If A uses his hand in 
ruffing, he will unguard his ten of trumps. 
And anyhow, who is going to give him all those 
ruffs ? 

As A holds a blank suit, he can be sure 
that some other player holds a blank, or 
at least a short, suit. A's hearts are 
doomed. 



234 



Mas ter -Auction 



What reliance can be placed on a barely 
guarded side-queen ? 

Suppose one of the adversaries should go 
to four diamonds? 

It was a miserable double ; here is the entire 
hand: 





9 QJ9 

4^8 

QJ9743 

♦ KQ7 




9 K 10 6 5 4 
4k Q43 

— 

4 106532 


Y 

A B 
Z 


9 A872 

♦ K 10 9 6 
<> 108652 

♦ — 




93 

4k A J752 

O AK 

4 AJ984 





B correctly passed the double, and it was 
thanks to his hand that A fared no worse 
than he did. 

And, for a last example, at what point 
would you double hearts on this hand, and 
sitting on the right of the heart bidder? 



The Real Double 235 

^ 10 743 2 
♦ AKQ J53 
09 
4^ K 

Your two singletons are losers before they 
are assets ; if you use your trumps for ruffing, 
you'll never make your ten — and as I've 
repeatedly said, who's going to give you all 
those ruffs? You can't lead to them your- 
self, the adversary won't be such a fool, and 
your partner won't be constantly in the 
lead. 

With so dishonest a hand yourself, you 
may be sure that there is at least one other 
dishonest hand at the table; someone's going 
to ruff your clubs. 

I should count that hand as taking two 
tricks — one club and one trump, or one club 
and one rufi; and I should certainly not 
double anything under five, at which bid I 
should hope to have the book in my hand. 
As a matter of fact, the clubs were ruffed on 
the first round, and a small slam was scored 



236 



Master -Auction 



against the double (which had been incred- 
ibly made at ''Three hearts"). 
Here is the hand : 

♦ 764 

<> J 10 8 5 3 

4b Q985 



^ 10 7432 




Y 




^ 


5 


4k AKQJ53 
09 


A 




B 





10 9 82 
Q42 


♦ k 




Z 




^ 


J 10 6 4 2 



^ AKQ J96 

* 

AK76 

♦ A73 



I played Z, and though I knew I could 
score my bid, I took care not to redouble. 
Hearts at sixteen a trick, a bonus, and some 
extra tricks to score above and below suited 
me down to the ground. Why should I want 
to frighten A back to the suit I lacked? Of 
course, if he went back to clubs, I could as 
easily go on in hearts; but suppose he didn't 



The Real Double 237 

double me again ! Then my hearts would be 
worth only their normal value, I'd have no 
bonus and no extra tricks. And even if he 
did double, I'd have one extra trick the less 
to my credit. No, I was very well content to 
score 410 points on the hand, without grasp- 
ing for more. 
Remember the dog, the hone, and the shadow! 



CHAPTER IX 

EIGHTS AND NINES 

Throughout this chapter it will be neces- 
sary for you to differentiate sharply between 
an eight or a nine led, and an eight or a nine 
played on a trick already led — whether in 
following or in discard. 

Against any declared trump, the lead of an 
eight or a nine is always short (singleton or 
doubleton). It couldn't possibly be any- 
thing else. It couldn't be fourth-best from 
an honor, because if you put any three cards 
above an eight or a nine, two of them, at 
least, must be honors; and you don't lead 
fourth-best from two honors against a de- 
clared trump. If the two honors touch, you 
lead one of them. If they don't touch, you 
avoid the suit. And should all three of the 
238 



Eights and Nines 239 

cards higher than the eight (or the nine) be 
honors, you would, of course, lead one of 
them. ''Your lead against any three honors 
is ALWAYS one of those honors" (whether 
the hand be trumps or no-trumps) . 

Against no-trumps, on the other hand 
(where there are no designedly short leads), 
an eight is always a genuinely fourth-best 
lead, because against no-trumps you do 
lead fourth-best from two honors — whether 
they touch, or whether they don't. Not 
from three honors, mark you, but from 
two. Against a declared trump, you lead 
fourth-best from a single honor (if you have 
to), but never from two nor from three. 
Against no-trumps, you lead fourth-best from 
one honor, or from two honors, but never 
from three. A couple of examples may 
help: 

^ J73 
4i KQ985 
Q10 4 
4 J3 



240 Master -Auction 

Your lead against hearts, diamonds, or 
spades is the king of clubs (from two honors 
that touch) ; your lead against no-trumps is 
the eight of clubs (the fourth-best card of 
your longest suit). 

^ J73 
♦ K J985 
Q 10 4 
^ J3 

Against any declared trump, you must let 
the clubs alone on your opening lead, because 
your two honors do not touch. It is a hard 
hand to lead from : against spades, you would 
be forced to lead your third-best diamond; 
against diamonds or hearts, your choice would 
have to fall on the jack of spades (higher of 
two). Of course, in any of these cases already 
given, if your partner has bid you will lead your 
highest of his suit. Returning to the hand 
under discussion: against no-trumps, your 
lead is again the eight of hearts ; even though 
you hold two honors that do not touch, you 
lead the fourth-best card of your longest suit. 



Eights and Nines 241 

Hence it follows that an eight-lead is 
always a singleton or a doubleton against a 
declared trump, but that it is a legitimate 
fourth-best lead against no-trump. A nine 
is likewise a singleton or a doubleton against 
declared trumps, hut against no-trumps it is 
a signal of distress. It says, "Don't let this 
lead deceive you, Partner, and don't sacrifice 
anything in its behalf. Don't return it, unless 
for purposes of your own. I haven't any suit; 
or if I have, it must be led to me. Therefore 
I lead this nine as a signal of distress." 

How can the nine say all this ? 

In the first place, it isn't a short lead, for 
why should anyone want to lead short against 
no-trumps when there is no chance of ruffing ? 

And in the second place, it couldn't be 
fourth-best, because if the nine were your 
fourth-best card the three higher: would 
infallibly all be honors — and your lead from 
three honors is always one of those honors, 
whether against trumps or no-trumps. 

If you, as declarant, are playing any de- 



242 



Mas ter -Auction 



dared trump and if the original lead against 
you is a nine or an eight, wake up and pull 
trumps. Don't do any finessing. Unless 
that nine or eight were led in response to a 
partner's bid, it is a singleton or a doubleton; 
its holder is asking for a ruff; don't be obliging 
enough to give it. 

Here is a hand where negligence of this 
principle cost a lot. Z was a very self-satis- 
fied player, and my partner in this particular 
rubber. The score was love-all on the 
rubber game : 



^ AKJ 
4^ 654 
Q984 
4 A 10 2 



^8 




Y 




^ Q7432 


♦ qJ 10 9872 


A 




B 


4^3 


7 2 




A K J 10 6 


4^ 743 




Z 




4^ 65 



^ 10965 
4^ AK 
53 
4 KQJ98 



Eights and Nines 243 

Z opened with ''A spade," A passed, I 
said ''Two spades," and B very bravely went 
to ''Three diamonds" to save rubber. Z 
said "Three spades," A "Four clubs," which 
I passed — feeling sure that a late-round club- 
bid on a clean score did not threaten much. 
B hesitated, but passed, feeling probably that 
her diamonds made a good side-suit, and Z said 
"Four spades," which closed the bidding. 

A led the eight of hearts. Personally, I 
think the seven of diamonds to her partner's 
bid would have been a much better choice. 
She had the chance of a third-round ruff, and 
some hope of her partner taking the diamond- 
round, whereas the heart was a total uncer- 
tainty. In addition, the diamond-lead would 
have told her adversary nothing; the heart- 
lead (being an eight) shouted aloud that she 
wanted to ruff hearts. 

Do you think that eight-spot warned Z? 
Not the least in the world. To my gasping 
amazement, she finessed my jack; B took 
and returned a heart which A ruffed; she led 



244 Master -Auction 

the seven of diamonds which was won by B 
who naturally returned another heart. A-B 
took five tricks (defeating the bid by two) 
before my partner ever got in, and all because 
of a finesse on an eight-spot. She said later 
that she thought A was leading from the 
queen. It is obvious that A couldn't have 
been leading from the queen ; and even if she 
could, Z could have played the king, and 
still have held that queen under dummy's 
fourchette, ready to be led through when 
trumps were gone. 

Z, the all-sufficient, told us later that she 
"had never heard anyone say that an eight- 
spot was bound to be a short lead!" 

These, then, are the messages conveyed by 
eight-spot and nine-spot leads : both of them are 
invariably short against declared trumps : the 
eight is a legitimate fourth-best against no- 
trumps, and the nine is a signal of distress. 

I am often questioned about the standing 
of a short lead. It is excellent. There is no 
longer any stigma on a short lead, as there 



Eights and Nines 245 

used to be when it was called a '* Sneak" 
(almost as ugly a word as ''renig"). Some 
players like short leads and others don't; 
personally, I love them. I have seen count- 
less hands defeated by short leads that could 
never be defeated in any other way. Those 
who dislike them, argue that in the event of 
their going wrong the suit is established for 
the adversary and is a wonderful asset when 
trumps are gone. This is true; but in the 
case of their going right, they'll kill a hand 
when nothing else will. The most con- 
servative players never lead short with fewer 
than four trumps ; they argue that if the short 
lead goes against them, the declarant will 
lead trumps; but that, as he will hesitate 
to lead more than three rounds (for fear of 
weakening his own hand), they will still get 
their ruff with their fourth trump. While 
this is true, I think it is ultra-conservative, 
and deters from many excellent and profitable 
short leads. No one, of course, should invite 
a ruff unless he wants to take it — as in the 



246 Master -Auction 

case of trumps that are strong enough to 
defeat the make, and which should never be 
wasted on ruffs. 

We comiC now to eights and nines played 
to the first round of a suit (not led), whether 
in following, or in discard. 

As a first discard, an eight or a nine always 
shows strength in the suit; it asks that that 
suit be led to the discarder; it is called an 
encouragement-discard (together with all 
cards higher than the six). 

In following, on a suit led by the ad- 
versary, an eight or nine played to the first 
round is a sign of shortness, or of high cards 
being held. It should always receive immedi- 
ate startled notice. 

Played to a partner's original king-lead, it 
is almost sure to be a singleton, or the first 
card of an echo ("down and out"); to play 
high on the first round of a suit and low on 
the second, is to show that you can trump the 
third round. Echo only on your partner's 
leads; never give such valuable information 



Eights and Nines 247 

to the adversary; and of course, never echo 
when you can't trump. 

Played on a partner's original ace-lead, an 
eight or a nine says, ' * I have the king ; come 
on." Again, it is an encouragement-card. 
There are times when you hold the king to 
your partner's ace, and lack the card to tell 
him so ; then it will all come out later. There 
are times when you do not hold the king to 
his ace and are yet forced to play encour- 
agement; that cannot be avoided — it is the 
sporting chance of the game. But gener- 
ally, you will find yourself in a position 
to give legitimate information by play 
of card — provided you have the skill to 
give it, and your partner has the skill to 
read it. 

Remember, eights and nines may be played 
by the declarant in false-carding — purposely 
to mislead his adversaries. He is the only 
person at the table who can afford to false- 
card, because he is the only one who has no 
partner to be deceived. Don't take any of 



248 



Master -Auction 



his eight-and-nine information too seriously; 
don't let it frighten you off a suit. 

Remember, the nine (almost equally with 
the ten) is the indication when to cover an 
honor with an honor, and when to finesse 
an honor toward an honor. I have already 
taught you to cover an honor with an honor 
when you do not see the nine {or the ten) on the 
hoard, or do see it in your own hand. And 
you should finesse an honor toward an honor 
when you hold (in either hand) the nine or 
the ten; whereas you should finesse a small 
card toward an honor when you do not hold 
(in either hand) the nine or the ten. As 
here: 

C^ J73 



9 984 




^ KIO 



^ AQ652 



You (as Z) must lead that suit from the 
jack-hand — i.e., from the weak hand to the 



Eights and Nines 249 

strong. But to lead the jack toward the ace 
would be to lose the third round, because you 
hold neither the nine nor the ten. Holding 
either, or both, your first proper lead is the 
jack, toward the ace-queen. 



CHAPTER X 

CONDENSED LEADS 

Discussing leads one day, I said it was a 
shame that anyone should attempt to play 
without knowing them, when all the leads there 
are could he condensed on a single side of an ordi- 
nary sheet of type-writer paper — and that surely 
any player could learn as much as that. 
Being ** stumped" to prove my assertion as to 
the little space they need occupy, I will give 
my readers the benefit of the result. 

Against Any Declared Trump 

Lead one of two touching honors; 

one of any three honors; an ace; 

fourth-best from a single honor that 

is not the ace; a singleton, or a double- 

250 



Condensed Leads 251 

TON (higher of two). There are no other 
leads. 

The lead of an ace denies the king. Always 
lead ace from an ace-suit, unless you hold 
king as well. Never lead low from an ace- 
suit. To lead ace and follow it with king 
shows that you have no more of that suit 
and want to ruff it. 

The lead of the king shows the ace, or 
the queen, or both. 

The lead of a queen denies all higher 
cards, and shows the jack. 

The lead of a jack denies all higher 
cards and shows the ten. 

The lead of the ten shows the two 
gentlemen (some players lead the jack here). 

The best lead is from two honors that 
touch. 

Holding two honors that do not touch, let 
the suit come up to you. 

Holding any three honors, your lead 

IS ALWAYS one OF THOSE HONORS. 

All other leads are either fourth-best from 



252 Master -Auction 

a single honor that is not the ace, or else 
short. 

A short lead is a singleton or a doubleton. 

Never lead fourth-best from two 
honors, nor from three. simply from 
a single honor that is not the ace. 

Against No-trumps 

Your lead is always the fourth-best card 
of your longest suit, unless you have a 
seven-card suit, or a three-honor suit, in 
which case you lead high. 

Holding no decent suit, lead a nine-spot 
as a signal of distress. 

Holding no suit and no nine-spot, lead the 
next-to-top card of a long weak suit. 



CHAPTER XI 



HISTORY 



During the war, Auction naturally receded 
into the background — which is not to say 
that it ceased to have its uses; in trenches, 
in nursing-homes, in hospitals, it proved a 
solace to hundreds of weary men. Never- 
theless, it was merely a way of passing dull 
time — never a first interest. 

In those years of inaction, the most ridicu- 
lous of all the many offshoots of Auction 
appeared under the name of Pirate Auction. 
So dead is Pirate now that it doesn't deserve 
even a funeral-sermon; so short was its life, 
it had far better never been born; so mon- 
strous was its form, it seemed impossible that 
anyone could take it seriously. Neverthe- 
less, there were those who spent money in 
253 



254 Master- Auction 

learning it, and those who made money by 
teaching it. They say there is always some- 
thing for which to be thankful; I'm thankful 
that Pirate Auction never touched me. 
Requiescat in pace. 

Two other silly additions were proposed to 
the game: first, that a player should be al- 
lowed to score only as much as he bid; and 
second, that each side should be permitted 
one intentional revoke. Needless to say, 
these didn't go very far. 

From time to time the discussion over 
slams arises : there are those who insist that a 
slam should be awarded a bonus only when 
it is a declared slam ; that is, if a player makes 
six tricks, or seven tricks, he may score them 
all; but he may not take his fifty, or his 
hundred, above the line unless he has con- 
tracted to make his six tricks, or his seven. 
As yet, no change in the slam laws has been 
made. 

The Laws, not touched since 191 7, have 
just been remodeled by a committee of the 



History 255 

Whist Club. As I have frequently pointed 
out, there were numerous ambiguities in the 
Laws; some of these I discussed at great 
length, prior to 191 7, and it gave me great 
satisfaction to find my suggested changes 
appearing in the new Laws of that date; 
— I do not claim any influence in the changes, 
but they were certainly the exact ends to 
which I had fought. Other ambiguities 
are now admitted to have survived; should 
the happy time ever come when there were 
no ambiguities and no omissions in the Laws, 
few or no decisions would have to be referred 
to the Whist Club by outsiders. A copy of 
the Laws would be all that was necessary. It 
has also been found desirable recently to alter 
the arrangement of the Laws. 

Various changes in their substance (entail- 
ing intrinsic changes in the game itself) were 
proposed. The most important of these was 
that the first trick lost on a contract should 
count double — one hundred above the line, 
two hundred if doubled, four hundred if 



256 Master -Auction 

redoubled; this would have carried with it a 
corresponding increase in the value of the 
bonus for winning a doubled hand. No trick 
but the first was to be so altered, the others 
remaining at fifty. 

It would have been an absurd change. 
Apart from the uneven value it would give 
the tricks, it must be apparent to the stupid- 
est person that it is easier to take one trick 
from a contract than to take two — easier 
to defeat a bid by one trick than by two; in 
fact, each additional trick grows harder, so 
that if there were to be any differentiation in 
value, it should be in an ascending scale, not a 
descending one. The increased value should 
be given to the trick that is the hardest to 
make, not to the one that is the easiest. 

It is plain to see the source of the plan. 
There are players who never want anything, 
or anyone, to interfere with their good hands. 
They are never interested in giving the 
other side a chance; they never liked nullos; 
they always want to say, "Shoo-fly, get 



History 257 

off the earth. Don't spoil this big hand of 
mine." 

A case was instanced in which a four-dia- 
mond hand with thirty -five honors was bidding 
against a four-spade hand with thirty -six 
honors. Neither hand could make more than 
four, but four would mean game to the spade- 
hand while it wouldn't to the diamond. It was 
pointed out that the diamond-hand could bid 
five (losing fifty and scoring thirty-five) and 
could therefore keep the spade-hand from 
going game. (What a pity! What a terri- 
ble shame!) But we are not told why the 
spade-hand couldn't just as well go to five (los- 
ing fifty and scoring thirty-six) if he wanted to. 
Nor why he should own the earth. Nor yet 
why, after defeating the five-diamond bid, he 
hasn't still an even chance at the game on the 
next hand (since the diamond-hand can no 
more go game than can he, and the issue is 
still open). The spade-hand is, moreover, 
fifteen points to the good in the honor-score. 
He has scored on the hand, and has still his 



258 Master -Auction 

chance; but he is aggrieved because his game 
has been spoiled. 

A very specious argument was put forward 
in favor of this innovation (one hundred for 
the first trick taken on a defeat) . It was that 
the odds were too great against the spade- 
hand just quoted. The maximum winnings 
on the diamond-hand would be 63 points (28 
below the line and 35 above it) ; while on the 
spade-hand the winnings would be "197 — 
thirty-six points, thirty-six honors, and a 
hundred and twenty-five for game — game being 
half of rubber." 

Now, while it is perfectly true that a game 
is half of a rubber, it is not true that the 
first game is equivalent to a hundred and 
twenty-five actual points; only in the event 
of making the second game is it worth any- 
thing at all; and the making of that second 
game is by no means a sure thing. 

Arguing thus with a supporter of the 
would-be innovation, I was assured that 
every game was worth an actual hundred 



History 259 

and twenty -five. Asked to prove it, he said : 
* * You get a game, and it gives you a hundred 
and twenty-five, though it is not the custom 
so to write it. You get another game, and 
you then take its bonus, plus the bonus of its 
predecessor, and write it down in a lump sum 
— two hundred and fifty." 

''Then," said I, "we'll take the case where 
you win the first game and its hundred and 
twenty-five. I win the second and its 
hundred and twenty-five. You win the third 
— your rubber is worth but one hundred and 
twenty-five to you." 

"No, no," he answered. "I win the first 
and its bonus, you win the second, and your 
bonus cancels mine." 

"Then your rubber is worth but the bonus 
on the third game — one hundred and twenty- 
five?" 

"Certainly not. The second game, being 
rubber, is worth two hundred and fifty." 

"Very well. In the case of your winning 
two straight games, the first is worth one 



26o Master -Auction 

hundred and twenty-five and the second two 
hundred and fifty — making your rubber 
worth three hundred and seventy -five ? ' ' 

"Certainly not." 

* ' Then some second games are worth twice 
as much as others ? ' ' 

''You're forcing the point," he said. (J, if 
you please, was the one who was forcing a 
point. But such being the case, I proceeded 
to rub it in.) 

"About this canceling business," I con- 
tinued — * ' where you get a thing and I, on get- 
ting the same thing, cancel yours instead of 
winning my own : if you win two no-trump 
tricks on a hand, you score twenty ; now, if I 
win two no-trump tricks on the next hand, 
does that merely cancel yours ? '- Or do we each 
score our twenty ? " 

"Each scores twenty, of course!" 

"Yet if you win a hundred and twenty- 
five above the line, and I win the same, mine 
cancels yours. Or if it doesn't, your rubber 
is diminished by half its worth." 



History 261 

All of which proves that it is better to look 
all the way around a post than a little way 
around one of its sides. 

In the case of the aforementioned spade- 
hand being held at the beginning of the 
second game, the odds are of course against 
it. But the facts remain that though it can 
not score game, neither can its adversary; 
that an adversary should be allowed a 
fighting chance, and the choice of two losses ; 
that the thing equalizes in the long run ; that 
a good fight is better sport than a walk-away ; 
and that it is a matter of luck whether the 
spots on a man's cards happen to be red or 
black; and that since this is the case, it is a 
mistake and a detriment to a good game 
unduly to exalt one suit above another. 

Now, it being a matter of luck whether the 
spots on a man's cards are red or black, why 
not give them both a fighting chance ? Weren't 
the suit-values moved and put a mere point 
apart, just in order that inequality might be 
killed and the minor-suits have a showing? 



262 Master -Auction 

Certainly they were. If honors make a one- 
trick loss too profitable, then let us do what 
I have been urging for years, and stop scoring 
honors. It is too much like giving a man 
money and then paying him for having it. 
The winning power of high cards is quite 
enough, without any extra reward being 
bestowed upon them. 

However, I fear that the day when honors 
will cease to be scored is far away. In the 
meantime, it gives me pleasure to record that 
this question of doubling the value of the 
first defeating trick having been put to vote, 
not one single vote was cast in its favor. 

Another mooted subject was the Revoke. 
It has long seemed senseless to me that it 
should be worth three tricks to one side, and 
the value of but two tricks to the other side. 
The decision on this subject, as well as on all 
others, you will find embodied in the latest 
Laws — the Laws of 1920 — which are here 
appended. ' 

^ Laws of 1920 not yet issued 



History 263 

From the other side of the Atlantic there 
comes word of a new variant of Auction. 
Although of English origin, no standing is 
yet claimed for it in the land of its birth ; but 
it is asserted that it ' ' has swept Auction out 
of Paris inside a week." For the credit 
of Paris and its card taste, one hopes that 
this may be a mistake. 

The new game is called "Contract Auc- 
tion," or "Contract Bridge" — I'm not quite 
sure which. It is slow — one rubber being 
often all that can be accomplished in an even- 
ing's sitting. It is heavy — doing away with 
the subtler points of our game. It is retrogres- 
sive — sacrificing the near-equality of the suits 
which came '. i with our present count (for 
under its banner, the minor-suits retire once 
more into the shades from which we dragged 
them in establishing this count) , raising luck- 
percentage, and copying some of the ideas of 
the inferior game of Five Hundred. 

Only the number of tricks bid may be 
scored below the line; this means that the 



264 Master-Auction 

minor-suits are never mentioned except as an 
invitation to no-trumps (just as we used to do 
it some seven years ago, before we learned 
better) ; in the case of more tricks being 
taken than are bid, the extra tricks are scored 
at fifty apiece above the Hne. 

This makes slow rubbers, and heavy ones. 
The overhead column is very long. Half of 
the subtle over-calls (those cleverest of 
latter-day discoveries) vanish. Unsafe no- 
trumpers remain unsafe no-trumpers, and 
go down in dust and ashes. 

No honors lower that four in one hand are 
scored. The luck percentage is thus raised 
(for four honors in one hand is certainly a 
piece of great luck). When luck percentage 
is raised, skill percentage is necessarily low- 
ered (there being only a hundred per cent of 
anything). And the lower the skill percen- 
tage of a game, the less its dignity and mental 
appeal. 

Again, inequality results. If you have the 
luck to hold four honors in one hand, my best 



History 265 

chance of recovering from the blow is of 
holding simple honors twice or thrice against 
you. This equalization is denied the man 
who plays Contract Auction. 

Enormous bonuses are proposed for slam 
and little slam. To my mind, the slam 
bonuses are just about right as they are. A 
slam may be the result of great skill or great 
cards : when coming from great skill, our old 
values were certainly too slight a reward — 
(forty for slam, and twenty for little slam 
would not seem much nowadays); but no 
one need sneeze at fifty and a hundred as 
payment for his skill. And on the other 
hand, when a slam is scored merely by force of 
a huge hand that couldn't help taking tricks, 
anything over fifty and a hundred would 
certainly be too much in the way of a bonus. 

This is all a mere outline of the proposed 
new variant ; more would, I think, be unneces- 
sary, for I cannot believe that it will win 
many supporters. If a player likes a slow 
game, a heavy game, a game with more luck 



266 Master-Auction 

and less skill, a game that lacks subtlety, a 
game that substitutes a "big stick" for a pair 
of fencing foils, then he'll love Contract 
Auction. But I'm optimistic enough to 
think that such players are in the minority. 
You who read this book and who love 
Auction as it stands, who would be glad to 
welcome any real improvement but who 
would mourn to see it mutilated, can all help 
in protecting it. I don't believe it will ever 
become a question of a battle between 
Auction and Contract Auction ; but should it 
so happen, you know where we stand. Just 
set your faces against the usurper. Behead 
him at birth, and award the crown and the 
sceptre to the beloved game in whose honor 
this little volume has been written ! 



Jt Selection from the 
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Oomplete Catalo^xies s«nt 
on application 



The Complete Auction 
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By Florence Irwin 

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has that rare gift of catching the high 
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"Not only the best writer on Auction, 
but the best exponent of any card game 
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